


To Die For

by Jase



Category: Aaron Dingle - Fandom, Emmerdale, robert sugden - Fandom, robron
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Destiny, Fate, Fate & Destiny, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Meant To Be, Reunions, Smut, Soulmates, Werewolves, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-11 18:45:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12941415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jase/pseuds/Jase
Summary: Aaron is a lonely bartender with nothing going on in his life. He's spent his entire life feeling like something's missing, he has nothing more than a crappy apartment and a best mate, but everything changes the night a mysterious blond man walks into his pub.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> New little AU that I put together for a friend. The idea was her's as was the tittle so if you hate it, blame her.
> 
> For you Rach.
> 
> Had the need to get back to this so I started with an update to Chapter 1 before moving on to Chapter 2.  
> Enjoy the changes/updates.
> 
> Please feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think.

 

**CHAPTER 1**

* * *

 

  

Mundane…mundane and monotonous is what life feels like for Aaron, it’s never really felt like anything more. He’s always felt like there was something out there waiting for him, maybe not even that, maybe more like someone. The thing is ever since he can remember he felt like part of him was missing, he couldn’t understand why he felt that way, and he certainly couldn’t tell what it meant. All he knew is that it made him restless, made him feel like he was always on the move, always on the lookout for what he was searching for. The restlessness only serving to get him into trouble through his youth, trouble that eventually got him kicked out of his home at the young age of 16, or at least it’s what he tells himself was the reason. Fortunately, he had always been smart and quick on his feet, able to find quick work to keep himself off the streets, living paycheck to paycheck, but off the streets no less.

With his knack for trouble he had managed to meet the right people and found himself a job as a runner doing the odd job here and there for the dealers he’d made “friends” with transporting “merchandise”. The work wasn’t all that dangerous, but it carried a very high danger in the fact that he would go down for trafficking drugs if he were ever caught. A danger he lived with for a few years until a close call made him realize that he’d never find whatever he was looking for if he was locked up behind bars. He’d made the decision to go clean, found himself a proper flat, got himself an honest, and made a real friend. Aaron had only been working as a bartender for a week when a homeless lad around his age came into his pub begging for food. The lad, Adam, had been quickly thrown out by the pub’s owner, but having taken pity on him, Aaron snuck out a sandwich and pint for him. With a bright smile, Adam had taken what Aaron snuck out for him and thanked him profusely. They’d gotten to chatting and found so much in common that Aaron couldn’t help but offer him a place to stay, shortly after he managed to help get him a job at the pub as well. They became inseparable, best mates, yet Aaron couldn’t help but still feel that emptiness. He had spent countless nights lying in bed wide awake staring at his ceiling telling himself he was going crazy, telling himself to pull it together and focus on the here and now.

A mumbling voice grabs his attention, bringing him back out of his thoughts, out of his memories. He looks across from him to see James, one of the regulars, letting his head droop down. His forehead nearly slamming against the bar top, before the man mumbles again and begins to snore. Aaron lets out a small chuckle before shaking his head. He wouldn’t normally give too much attention to the drunks, but he can’t help himself, it was rather funny, and he happens to be in a good mood for once. Can’t help but notice that it’s been a good month for some reason. For a whole month that feeling had waned. Maybe things were changing.

It had been a quiet night for the most part after all and he revels in it. It's not often that nights are this quiet and calm, he usually finds himself fighting a migraine, straining to hear everyone asking for a drink. Not tonight though, just a couple of the regulars slumped down on the bar top, drinks in hand. Taking advantage Aaron leans back and pulls out the Men's Health magazine he picked up earlier on his way to work. Sure, he likes it for all the fitness advice, but he'd be lying if he didn’t spend half the time enjoying the eye candy that usually covers the pages of the popular fitness magazine. Not that he'll fully admit it to himself or anyone else apart from his best mate, who figured it out one night when he caught him staring too intently into one of his fitness magazines.

“It’s alright if you are. You know that right?” Adam had encouraged him, part of him glad he at least had a friend he could count on, even if he wasn’t ready to admit it to anyone else.  
  
He's flipping through the pages after reading a piece on a better work out for the perfect abs when the main editorial on Chris Hemsworth and his daily workout routine catches his eyes, Chris Hemsworth that is, not so much the story. His tongue is slowly gliding across his bottom lip when the bell on the door jingles, signaling the arrival of new patrons. He looks up to see a beautiful woman come through, long black hair, and matching eyelashes. She's got a smile on her face, laughing at something that must have come from someone behind her. It's not until the person behind her walks through that he finally takes his eyes fully off the magazine, off the beautifully sculpted actor that's visited his dreams on many nights.  
  
What steps through the door is even better. A tall blond with green eyes and a body to die for walks in behind the woman. He’s wearing dark jeans that are perfectly fitted to his body and a shirt with a floral pattern on it. Something that would look ridiculous on anyone else, yet on him…it looks like it was made specifically for him. It’s perfect. There's something about him that feels electrifying, something about him that calls out to him. Aaron gulps hard and when the man looks in his direction he fumbles, the magazine slipping out of his hands, he quickly tries to catch it but only fumbles even more. Embarrassed he looks up hoping no one saw his fumble, instead he looks up to see the man give him a quick smile before he winks an eye at him. A dorky smile spreads across Aaron's face as he tries to play it cool, tries to play it off as if nothing had happened. _You fucking idiot, you better believe he saw that_. He's thinking to himself when the couple chuckles to themselves, as if laughing at an inside joke. As he looks over, the woman waves at him grabbing his attention. He looks over to see Adam coming back from a break and makes his way over to the couple.  
  
As he nears the woman he notices that there's something very alluring about her, he can't quite make out what it is. If he wasn't sure he was gay he'd almost think he fancied her. "Hey...uh what can I get you?" He asks.  
  
"Would you be a dear and make me a White Russian?" She asks before offering her hand to Aaron for a handshake. "I'm Leyla by the way." She introduces herself with a gleam in her eyes. There’s something about them, almost hypnotizing. Feels like she’s looking straight into his soul, the moment lasts for a few seconds before she almost flinches back, confusion splashed across her face.  
  
Aaron gives her a quick smile and nods before turning his attention to the blond man. "I'm Aaron...I...I mean, what can I get you?" He asks, his face turning a shade of red.  
  
"I'll just have a whiskey on the rocks." The man says, a cocky smile adorning his face. "And it's...ah...it's nice to meet you Aaron. My name is Robert." Like Leyla, Robert offers his hand to Aaron for a shake. Returning the smile, Aaron reaches out and takes Robert’s hand, a spark jolting through his body the second their hands meet. He’s not sure what that was, but he knows he liked it. Knows he wants more. With that Aaron quickly turns and makes for the bar completely unsure of what just happened.  
  
"What was that?" Leyla asks, eyeing Robert up and down.  
  
"What was what?" He replies coyishly.  
  
"You know damn well what I'm talking about, sweetheart, so don't play coy." She says smirking at him. "You're smitten. I can see it all over your face." She prods him for a moment, then when it dawns on her she gasps. "It's him, isn’t it?"  
  
Robert gives her a lopsided smile and nods. "Yeah. It's him."  
  
"How can you tell? Are you sure?"   
  
He smiles back at Leyla. "Yeah I'm sure. Looks just like him and I can feel it. It's...it's hard to explain, but I can just feel it."  
  
"I knew it!" Leyla shouts out in excitement before she notices Aaron looking back at them quizzically. "I knew it, you've been so upbeat this whole month. I knew something was up. You've been watching him, haven't you?" She asks.  
  
A look of embarrassment splashes across his face. "You make me sound like some sort of creep. Look, I was in the area last month closing in on that little shit Lachlan when I felt it. I didn't even realize what it was at first...it's been so long since the last time, but when I saw him walking in here I just knew it."  
  
"So... you’ve been watching him ever since, haven't you?"  
  
Robert throws his head back in frustration. "Yes, yes I have. Is that what you want to hear?" He nearly shouts. "I just hadn't worked up the guts to actually come in here." He laments, feeling guilty for letting slip the real reason he'd asked Leyla to hang out tonight.  
  
"So that's why you wanted to hang out, huh?" She laughs out. "Ah babe, you could've just asked. You have any idea how long I've been waiting for this?"  
  
Robert rolls his eyes at her but appreciates that she's not giving him a hard time about it. This is what he's been waiting for, what he's been waiting so many years for. He'd almost lost hope that he'd find him yet here he was just a few feet away. He looks over to see Aaron at the bar finishing off the drinks he's preparing for them, he's talking up another bartender that looks roughly about the same age. He has a similar build but has a mop of curls on top his head. He sees them smiling and the other guy leaning into him, squeezing at his shoulder and he can't help the swell of jealousy that rolls over him.  
  
"Shut up Adam." Aaron says as he elbows Adam in his side, trying to push him off himself.  
  
"Bro, you are so into him...don't even try to deny it. I saw the way you were looking at him." Adam teases. "Why don't you ask him for his number?"  
  
"Like hell. You do see he's on a date with that pretty piece he’s with, right?" He nearly hisses back, looking around to make sure no one else heard what Adam said.  
  
"Oh man, you are hopeless. You do realize he's into you too, right?"   
  
Aaron scoffs back at that. "You’re mental."  
  
"Bro, he couldn't take his eyes off you. I saw him checking you out when you came back here."  
  
Aaron's turns a shade of red as he bites at his lower lip. "You think?" He asks.  
  
"I know. Aren't you supposed to have that gaydar thing?" He teases.  
  
"Keep it down, will you?" He asks before the bell at the door clinks again, he turns his attention to welcome the new patrons and his stomach drops the moment he sees the gun. He slowly backs up and reaches behind himself to tap Adam on this elbow, Adam too distracted cleaning glasses and still egging Aaron up. "Ad!" He hisses out.  
  
"Oh shit!" Comes out of Adam the second he spots the gun. "Look man, it was a slow night tonight we don't have much in the registers and we don't have access to the safe, so you're wasting your time." He says, hoping the man will back off. Grinning a sinister smile, the man holds the gun up near his head tapping the barrel of the gun to his temple. His eyes are glassy and red, he's clearly on something.  
  
"Nah." The man says. "Think I'm going to fall for that shit? I know how much money this place pulls, been staking it out for a while. Knew tonight would be the perfect night when it's just the pups looking out for the place. You're going to empty out that register, the safe, and then..." He's saying pointing the gun straight at Aaron before he turns his body to look out into the bar. "All these lovely folks are going to also empty out their pockets for me. Or things are going to get real ugly, real quick."  
  
"I know what you're thinking babe, but we can't jump into action here. We can’t risk it. Let's just let this play out. If things get ugly, then we can intervene." Leyla whispers to Robert. Whispers in such a low tone that no normal person could possibly hear. She's worried, she's not quite sure Robert will hold. She can see his clenched jaw, can tell his instincts are kicking in. She gently reaches over and places her hand on his shoulder.  
  
"What if...what if he hurts him? I can't just stand by and do nothing." He says as he stands.  
  
"Not so fast pretty boy. Try anything over there and this boy's brains will end up on the wall...is that what you want?" The man threatens, waving the gun in Aaron's face, making Robert seethe. He knows why he feels so protective over him, but it still catches him off guard. He's close to making a dash for the man when he sees Aaron shake his head, pleading him to back off. Robert nods and sits back down.  
  
"What's...what's a man supposed to do to get some decent service around here!" James, the drunk that had passed out earlier at the bar, wakes up slurring, scaring the man holding the gun. Everything seems to go into slow motion when a loud bang rips through the air as the gun pointed at Aaron is fired. Aaron closes his eyes, years of regret flashing through his mind, years wasted being afraid to be who he really was, years wasted searching for something he would never find, regrets he would now be dying with. He squeezes his eyes shut, as tight as possible, waiting for everything to end, waiting for his life to end, instead he hears Adam's voice.  
  
"What the fuck?" Adam's nearly shouting, baffled. Aaron opens his eyes to see someone standing in front of him. As he looks up he realizes it's Robert. The stranger he had just met earlier was standing in front of him, he had somehow managed to jump in front of him.   
  
"How did you?" The robber stammers out before Robert snatches the gun right out of his hand and throws him across the room like a rag doll. He quickly turns, placing his hands on Aaron's arms, looking at him with concern.  
  
"You alright?" Robert asks.  
  
Aaron is still dazed, still confused by what just happened. He's not sure he really knows exactly what did happen, the only thing he knows for sure is that Robert's been shot. He can see the bullet hole in his shirt. He can see the blood in the wound, and he's not sure where this new panic has come from, but he quickly reaches out placing his hands to Robert's face, cupping it between his palms. "Robert!" He says, feeling like this is all too familiar, feeling like that name has been spilled from his lips thousands of times before. "You've been shot!" He cries out unaware of the emotions flooding him.  
  
"What the hell is going on!?" Adam asks, shouting. Panicking more now than he had when the man pulled the gun on them. Aaron's not quite sure why, but he knows they're safe, he knows there’s nothing to be afraid of.  
  
"Don’t worry, babe." Leyla says to Adam, suddenly standing beside him. Adam jumps back caught off guard and freezes in place the moment she locks eyes with him. "Nothing happened here tonight. It was a boring night with nothing but a few drunks. You'll go home after work and sleep like you've never slept before...oh and you'll dream about me." She says before winking at him and chastely kissing his cheek as she walks him out the door. Once Adam is gone she turns to Robert. "Hope you don't mind, but while you were busy up there saving him I went ahead and put these few to sleep, they won’t remember a thing." She says, waving to the handful regulars that had been in there when everything happened. "Those two drunks on the other hand, slept right through the whole thing."   
  
Aaron's looking on at Robert completely stunned, still not sure what’s going on or why he feels so at ease. He's not sure what it is about Robert, but something feels so familiar. "What's...what's going on? Who are you?" He’s asking when Robert’s suddenly over the bar and crashing against him as the second of the drunks is up and swinging a massive blade towards him. Everything happened in a blur and Aaron’s eyes barely register what’s going on, but he can tell Robert’s been hurt. He saw the pained look on his face, when the blade slashed across his back. They hit the shelves behind them and stumble to the floor, Aaron lands on his back with Robert on top of him. Even though Robert’s been hurt, Aaron can tell he’s still trying to protect him, trying to keep him safe, but from what, he couldn’t tell.

“You okay?” Robert asks, with a slight strain in his voice.

“Am I…Am I okay? Are you insane?” He barks at him and tries to shove him off, but Robert doesn’t even budge an inch. It feels like a brick wall to him. “Move, it’s not safe, we nee…”

“Don’t worry about it. Leyla’s got it covered.” Robert smirks back at him.

“How do you know?”

“Trust me, she’s got this.” Robert says as he stands, offering Aaron a hand. As they both get on their feet they turn to see Leyla standing over the drunk, her foot on his chest holding him down. Robert looks back to Aaron with a smile on his face. “What did I tell you?” He says before fully turning to Leyla, Aaron finally getting a full view or Robert’s back.

There’s a massive gash stretching from his lower back all the way up to his right shoulder. _What the fuck? How’s he even standing?_ Aaron thinks to himself.

“Don’t worry about, I’ll be fine.” Robert answers the question that Aaron had not even vocalized.

“But…how?” Aaron asks, confusion fully taking over.

“This is the last time I ask. Why did you try and attack our friend here?” Leyla demands. Her presence unlike anything Aaron had ever seen before. She presses her foot into the man as he groans in pain, the sound of bones being broken filling the air.

“The Whites…they…they hired me. I don’t know why, I don’t ask questions. I just do what I’m paid for.” He says before Leyla raises her foot and just as quickly drives her heel through the man’s chest, he lurches forward gasping for air before his skin grays and shrivels as if it had been dried out in extreme heat, only seconds before he fully turns to ash.

Aaron stands still, partially in shock yet partially calm, part of him feels like he’s seen this before. “What the fuck?” He silently mouths. _This can’t be happening…no way that guy’s a vam…_ He stops himself from even thinking it.

“A vampire.” Robert finishes his thought for him. “He is…well, was.” He says as his eyes go wide, dorky smile now adorning his face.

In the face of everything that’s just happened Aaron still finds it in himself to nearly chuckle at Robert. Finds him endearing and in that moment a flash of something runs through his mind, almost feels like a memory. “Seriously, what’s going on? Can you guys tell me what the fuck is going on?”

Robert’s face goes serious, his eyes locking in on Aaron’s before he sighs deeply. “Honestly…I’m not sure…” He pauses momentarily, his eyes darting around the pub as a sudden look of panic flashes across his face. “LEYLA, GET HIM OUT OF HERE. NOW!” Robert shouts only seconds before placing a hand to her shoulder and giving her a nod.

Almost on command Leyla reaches for Aaron. Taking his hand, she turns and in the blink of an eye, they’re no longer in the pub. Aaron shivers and drops to his knees, feels like he’s going to puke, feels like every fiber of his being is on fire. He has tears in his eyes even though he’s not entirely sure why. His eyes strain to flutter open, trying to collect himself, trying to take in their surroundings. They’re in a flat, a very expensive looking flat. Very modern, sleek, industrial almost, with exposed beams and brick walls. His brain trying to make sense of how they were suddenly here, a task that only lasts for seconds before his thoughts go to something else…someone else. “Robert…we can’t leave him back there. He’s not safe.” An internal and unfamiliar need growing inside of him. “Leyla, please.”

“Aaron, he’s going to be okay. Trust me, he can take care of himself.” She tries to calm him, she tries to explain how Robert is more than capable of handling himself.

Aaron clenches at his chest, finding it hard to breath. “Leyla, he’s not safe…I can feel it.”

Leyla places a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Just take a deep breath, the jump can be hard to get used to…It’s all you’re feeling.” She starts. “Robert will be fine. I’m sure he’ll be back any mo…”

Before she can finish what she was saying, a haze puffs into the middle of the room before Robert appears, dropping to his knees. He’s covered in lacerations, in blood, in untold injuries, but he still manages to look up at Aaron and gives him a strained smile. “I really liked this shirt.” He says before collapsing to the floor.

“ROBERT!” Aaron shouts for him as he runs to his side.

His name is all he hears as everything begins to go black, as his eyes begin to feel too heavy for him to keep open. His name is all he ears in a voice so familiar, almost feels like a lullaby, and he feels himself drifting.

“ROBERT!” He hears just before everything goes black.

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All hell broke out shortly after the blond stranger walked into his pub, now he finds himself in the middle of things he never thought possible. Robert's nearly lost his life protecting someone he just met, why would he go through that trouble, and why is he so desperate to protect him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally managed to make my way back to this fic. I've been away from it for so long but I found myself pulled back.  
> Please feel free to leave comments/feedback. Knowing if you guys are interested makes it work continuing.

**CHAPTER 2**

 

* * *

 

 

His heart is pounding harder than it ever has, it feels as if it’s about to jump out of his chest. The emotions running through him are all so strange yet so familiar at the same time. Nothing makes sense. Nothing he’s just experienced should be possible. So many things are running through his head and yet he feels like the only thing that matters is the blond man that’s just collapsed on the floor. It’s only seconds before he finds himself on his knees over Robert. He's not even sure why he feels so compelled to protect him, but he quickly lifts him by his shoulders and pulls him onto himself as he tumbles back. With Robert's back flushed to his chest he gently picks his head and tilts his face directly to his own.  
  
“Robert!” He cries out trying to get a response from him, trying to make sure he’s okay.  
  
“Give him a second.” Leyla tells him in a reassuring tone. She knows he'll be fine, but Aaron doesn't. Aaron doesn't understand what's going on.  
  
“We have to get him some help…we have to get him to a hosp…” Aaron is trying to demand when the groaning starts coming from Robert as he further nestles into Aaron's chest. He's covered in cuts and bruises with blood splattered across his body and it's hard to tell what's his and what's not. “Take it easy, Robert.” Aaron says, baffled as he sees some of the smaller injuries on his face begin to slowly fade...to slowly heal. After a couple of minutes a few have cleared up leaving only blood as evidence.  
  
"Robert?" Leyla asks with a concerned look on her face. She is no longer as confident looking as she had been minutes ago. "Robert, are you alright, love?" She gently asks, leaning over him and when she gets no response she begins to shake her head. "I don't understand." Quietly slips past her lips.  
  
"What? What don't you understand? What's going on?" Aaron demands as Robert slowly turns to his side and cradles into Aaron's chest, strained groans escaping his mouth.  
  
"I don't understand, he should've been up on his feet already. He heals faster than most of us, this doesn't make sense." She's trying to explain when it hits her. Her face scrunches in disgust as the smell hits her and it all falls in to place. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." She starts rambling as she quickly kneels down to them and begins frantically looking over Robert, looking at every injury that's covering his body. It doesn't take her long before she comes to a complete stop, she's found what she was looking for, found what she was afraid of.  
  
Aaron notices when her eyes go wide. "Shit!" She yells and she's quickly up on her feet and on her phone. "Get me Alicia, now!" Is all she orders into the phone before turning back to Aaron pursing her lips right before she turns looking around the room.  
  
"Aaron, love. Do you think you can take him over to that chaise over there, lay him down on his stomach?" She asks.  
  
He nods in response, still partially in shock. He's still unsure of what the fuck is going on, but he can tell Leyla means to help Robert and that's all that matters. Aaron lets out a small grunt as he slowly gets on his feet trying his best to carry Robert over to the chaise. It's not until he's laying Robert on the chaise that he sees it. The gash on his back, the one he got from the blade when trying to protect him, it looks like it's rotting. The flesh is turning black close to the laceration. The black seems to be slowly spreading, the fair skin around it is turning brown before its consumed by the putrid black.  
  
"Fucking hell!" He lets out before turning to Leyla. His night had been so normal before the two strangers had walked into his pub. Everything made sense. He got out of bed half 1 in the afternoon and ate toast while watching shit telly while Adam fixed a proper brekky for the both of them. Adam just trying to be thankful as usual. Adam just...fuck, Ad, I forgot about Ad. He scolds himself. He'd been so caught up with his current situation, rightfully so, that he forgot about Adam. He pulls out his phone with every intention of calling him, making sure he's okay, but it's quickly forgotten when he hears Robert's strained groans.  
  
The groaning is low at first, but it gets louder just before his body begins to convulse. "Robert!" Aaron shouts to him, kneeling to his side and grabbing a hold of his hand. "Robert, I'm here. You're going to be okay. You hear me." He tells him as he brushes his fingers across Robert's face, somehow knowing his words to be true.  
  
As he continues to caress Robert's face he can't help but feel something. He's not quite sure what it is, it almost feels like a memory. Like something he remembers. It feels like Deja Vu.  
  
It's then that he feels it, a blast of air, a bitter cold that he feels down to his bones. He hates it, always has, but there's no way he would've been anywhere else. The battlefield stretches for as far as his eyes could see, he's surrounded by death, but all that matters is what's in front of him...who's in front of him. Dying in his arms, the blissfully green eyes stare back at him, tears rushing out of them.   
  
"There you are..." Robert's voice snaps him out of his head, out of his thoughts, out of his memories? His voice is so low and shaky, his eyes barely open, but Robert looks up at him. "My Aaron." Is all gets out before his eyes shut close and his head drops. His color drains from him as the rot on his flesh begins to spread much faster.  
  
"Oh Fuck!" Leyla lets out. "Come on Alicia, where are you?"   
  
Almost as if hearing her words, a youthful woman bursts through the doors with a large stone bowl in hands. The bowl is filled with candles and a plethora of herbs. "There isn't much time." She says to Leyla, before turning to Aaron and looking him over suspiciously. She doesn't give him a second thought as she quickly kneels down next to Robert and empties out the bowl. She works quickly as she stands the candles around herself in some sort of pattern before turning to the herbs. She thoughtfully combines a mixture of them into the bowl and turns back to Leyla. "I need something sharp, quick." She tells her.   
  
Without hesitation Leyla reaches to her belt and pulls out a hidden dagger, handing it to the young woman. She quickly takes it and cuts down her palm, dripping blood over the herbs in the bowl. She closes her eyes and begins whispering something, it's so low that Aaron can't make out what she's saying. There's something mesmerizing about her, about what she's doing, he doesn't even realize he's moved in closer to her. It's not until the lights begin to flicker and the candles burst into flames on their own that he notices. Everything just keeps getting weirder. "What the fuck." He's whispering to himself when he feels a hand on his should pulling him back.  
  
"Give her some room, love." Leyla tells him. She can see the confusion on his face, can see how lost he is. She takes in a deep breath and lets it go. "Bloody hell." There’s a slight annoyed look in her eyes. She can't help it, everything has gone so wrong, what should have been a simple night out having fun, all went to hell. What's worse is that she has no idea why. And now this...Robert really should be the one to do this. Robert really should be the one to tell Aaron what's going on, to tell him who he is. She's not even sure she knows where to start. She relents and figures it's for the best to just tell Aaron the basics. Who they are and what exactly is going on at the moment, anything further she'll leave for Robert, if he makes it. "He'll make it." Quietly slips past her lips, almost as if she's trying to reassure herself.  
  
"Can you please just tell me what's going on?" Aaron pleads.  
  
Leyla is opening her mouth about to answer when they both hear it, the whispers. Whispers that are coming out of nowhere and everywhere at the same time, whispers that they can’t seem to make out.  
  
"You hear that?" Aaron asks in confusion, Leyla nods her head in response and it's then that they see the spasms in Robert's back. There's slight movement right below the skin, almost looks like something is slithering right below it.  
  
"Come on babe, I know you can make it." Leyla says, the words somehow sending a sting of jealousy through Aaron's core. A jealousy that catches him off guard, he's not sure where it came from or why. All thoughts fall by the wayside when he sees the tendrils slowly creeping out of the wound on Robert's back, it's then that Alicia reaches down for the stone bowl and lifts it to Robert's side. She places it flushed to his skin, presses it firmly into it just before the tendrils burst into a black liquid that oozes down his side and into the bowl. When the liquid stops oozing from the wound, she pulls the bowl back away from Robert and gently blows into it, setting the contents of the bowl ablaze. As she places the bowl back down on the floor she lets out a deep breath and wipes the back of her hand across her forehead. She turns looking to Aaron with a smile. "Don't worry, love, I made it just in the nick of time."  
  
"What...what exactly happened? What was all of that?" Aaron asks with urgency. He's had enough. Enough of not knowing what's going on, enough of whatever this is, enough of feeling like he's lost his mind.  
  
"It was Lycan venom." She replies.  
  
"It was what? What does that even mean?"  
  
She smiles in return as she shakes her head. A sweet and friendly aura about her helps calm him down, as agitated as he is, it calms him.  
  
"I take it these two have a lot of explaining to do. So, I guess I'll leave you to." She tells him right before looking back to Robert. "He's going to be okay. Just give him a couple of minutes and he'll come around." She then looks around Aaron to Leyla. "He'll be hungry, make sure you have something ready for him." She tells her before collecting the candles, placing them inside the bowl and setting it aside, it’s then that she turns back to Aaron. "I'm Alicia, by the way." She says before giving him a quick hug and while collecting the bowl, she gives him one last smile and walks away leaving the room.  
  
With Alicia gone, the only person who had actually given him any sort of answers, Aaron turns to Leyla. He’s desperate to know what is going on but is only met with her back as she’s quickly moving. As his eyes follow her, he finally takes in his environment. The flat they arrived in was massive, very sleek, and very expensive looking. Dark marble adorned the floors, while a bit of recessed lighting spread across the high ceilings. Most of the lighting in the room coming from the ambient light outside as one of the walls was lined with floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the bright city outside. Leyla made her way to a bar near the sitting area where Robert was still passed out in, she ducked behind it looking for something as Aaron followed, determined to get some answers.  
  
“Leyla. Will you please just tell me what’s going on?” Aaron demands.  
  
Standing from behind the bar, holding a container, she closes the hidden fridge she had been looking through and lets out a deep breath. “Fine.” She starts. “I was hoping Robert would’ve been up by now to just tell you himself, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. So…what do you want to know?”  
  
“For starters, what the fuck just happened? What did Alicia just do?” He asks.  
  
“What she did was save his life.”  
  
“From what?”  
  
“You saw the black tar-like substance, yeah? Well that was Lycan venom.”  
  
“You say that like I’m supposed to know what that is.”  
  
“Lycan…as in Werewolves. You know what Werewolves are, yeah? Well, their venom is deadly to us, to our kind.”  
  
Aaron looks at her wide-eyed and shakes his head as he shrugs his shoulders, clearly not fully following.  
  
“You're lucky you’re as fit as you are.” She says laughing. “Vampires, love. We are Vampires. Lycan venom is deadly to us. A lesser Vampire would have died almost instantly from it, Robert though, Robert’s strong. If he wasn’t as strong as he is, I don’t think Alicia would've had the time to extract it from him.”  
  
“And how did she do it? How did she extract it from him? What did she do?”  
  
“That love, is what you call magic.” She says with a smile. “My sweet baby sister is a witch.”  
  
Aaron rubs his palms down his face letting out a loud exhale, trying to take all of this in. He makes his way to the windows and begins pacing along the wall as he looks out. “So, you’re telling me that vampires, werewolves, and witches all exist.”  
  
“Amongst other things…yes, that’s exactly what I’m telling you.”  
  
Finally coming to a stop, he turns back to Leyla and looks at her for a moment, trying to figure out what to ask next. “Who are you guys?”  
  
“You already know who we are, love. I believe we introduced ourselves back at the pub.”  
  
“You know that’s not what I meant. Who are you? And why would you risk your own lives for me?” He asks, remembering the way Robert protected him. Remembering how concerned he was for his safety.  
  
“That sweetheart, I believe is a question better left for him.” She says nodding towards the chaise, towards Robert.  
  
“Yeah, well he seems to be pretty indisposed of at the moment.”  
  
Leyla lets out a laugh, finally dropping her shoulders, finally lightening up. “You know, I like you Aaron.” She tells him as she opens the container she was holding and pulled out two stainless steel thermoses. “You ever heard of soulmates?” She asks, catching Aaron off guard, now curious with what she's doing.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Soulmates.” She says slowly, making sure to annunciate properly, teasing really.  
  
“Yeah, I heard you, I’m not stupid, I know what soulmates are. Why are you asking?”  
  
“There’s a reason I’m asking. Do you believe in them? People that are destined for one another?”  
  
Baffled by what she’s asking he simple shakes his head, squinting his eyes. "I don't know. Why you asking?"  
  
"Do you believe in them?" She presses the question again.  
  
"I don't know, guess I've never thought about it, but sounds like a load of crap really."  
  
A small chuckle escapes her mouth and she reaches behind the bar for a whiskey glass before she goes back to the thermoses. She takes one in hand and shakes it vigorously for a minute then twists the cap off and breathes into it. A smile spreads across her face signaling her approval of whatever liquid it contained.  
  
"Well, don't let him hear that." She points to Robert. "You'll break his heart."  
  
"What? What you on about?"  
  
"Believe it or not, you, love. I'm on about you two."  
  
"You what?"  
  
"It's what you two are."  
  
"You winding me up or summat?"  
  
"Have you ever felt like something was missing? Like you are unbearably restless?"  
  
After everything he's witnessed tonight, after everything he's heard, it's not until those last two questions that he falters. He knows those feelings all too well. He remembers the feelings as clear as day. It's the feelings he's woken with every day of his life far back as he can remember. Every day had been a struggle to deal with because of them. He remembers the restlessness he had always felt. The need to go seeking for something he felt was missing. The feeling that there was something broken inside of him.  
  
"What are you getting at?" He asks even though deep down he thinks he knows. He chides himself for even thinking it. It's all nonsense.  
  
"That thing you're missing...it's not a thing. It's a person, and that person is standing right over there." She says nodding towards Robert. "Well, maybe not standing, but you get what I'm trying to say."  
  
"You're mad, you know that." He tells her as a fact, not a question. "I'm done with this. Whatever this is, whatever you guys are up to, I want nothing to do with it." Aaron tells her, his finger pointing at her. "I'm out of here."  
  
His steps are quick and he's nearly to what he thinks is the front door when he comes to a full stop. He's not quite sure why he'd stopped, why he feels like he should stay, but he slowly turns and looks at Leyla. "He...he is going to be fine, yeah?" He asks.  
  
Leyla nods with a look of worry in her face. "You sure you don't want to stick around, least till he's up."  
  
Aaron simply turns and opens the door, leaving before he loses his mind, before he can't muster the strength to leave.  
  
"Shit." Leyla lets out. "I'm so sorry, Robert. I tried."  
  
____  
  
  
Aaron clutches his chest gasping for air, his lungs are spent, he had been running for 30 minutes straight without stopping. An arm reaches out and holds on to the wall while his free one rests on his knee as he tries to calm his breathing. _You’re home, just take a breather_. He tells himself as he finds himself just outside his building. It feels like a lifetime that he’s been keeled over trying to catch his breath and it almost feels pointless. Try as he might, he can’t seem to get his breathing under control. He stands up straight and leans into the wall pulling at the collar of his shirt, as he realizes his breathing is getting worse. He feels like he’s drowning, and everything seems to go black, his eyes fluttering as he tries to gulp in air, yet all that goes in is water. He feels the water filling his mouth, filling his lungs, that’s when he realizes he's trapped. His legs are pinned beneath the wooden wreckage of the ship. There’s no escape. The soft hand touching his face, the only comfort he has, he looks over to see those beautiful green eyes looking back at him. Everything he could ever want to hear is being spoken through those eyes somehow. In that moment all he has to do is look into them and he knows he is loved. Knows that the man they belong to is not leaving his side, that man is staying with him. The love of his life will die with him.  
  
The blaring siren of an ambulance driving by pulls him out of his mind. _What is happening to me?_  He asks himself as he feels his breathing return to normal and he allows himself to think about the moment he had walked out of that flat. About how he felt it, the strange pull towards the blond man who'd saved his life earlier in the night, the same man he had now seen twice in his head, in what only feels like memories. He remembers the need to return to him. He also remembers how it took everything he had in him to exit the building, if he had stuck around any longer he knew he would have found his way back to him, so he ran.  
  
_Fuck, get a hold of yourself. Just get yourself to bed. You’re probably just shattered_.  
  
“Hey Ad, you in here?” Aaron asks as he steps through the door to his flat. As he turns the lights on he can tell Adam hasn’t been in yet. The place would be a mess already if he had, he’d also be on the couch watching shit telly. He can’t help but feel worried, after everything that had happened tonight anything is possible. He quickly dashes his way across his flat to check Adam’s room just to make sure, but nothing, no Adam, no signs of him having been there since early in the day. He’s closing the door to Adam’s room when a hand grips on to his shoulder and he feels his stomach drop.  
  
“Mate! Where the hell have you been?” Adam asks, cheerful as ever.  
  
"Fuck!" Aaron shouts jumping in place. Feeling the color draining from himself. After everything he's seen this night he can't help but be a bit on edge. "Don't sneak up on me like that you wanker."  
  
"Soz, mate. Didn't think you were that jumpy." Adams laughs. "Seriously though, where have you been, man?"  
  
"You don't even want to know." He says letting out a breath as he runs his hands down his face, something he feels like he's been doing all night.  
  
"So get this, I must have been shattered cos I don't even remember getting back from the pub, but I was passed out. Like seriously out of it, cos I had this dream, it felt so fucking real." He tells Aaron as he takes a seat on the sofa that sits along the wall near Adam's room. "And there was this bird, brunette, piercing eyes. Fuck...I feel like I've seen her in person. Mate, I know you don't fancy them, but I think even you would fancy this little number."  
  
Aaron looks at him incredulously before rolling his eyes. "Shut up."  
  
"Anyway, I woke up and I feel like I have a splitting headache. I haven't eaten since brekky so maybe it's that. Thought I'd run down and pick up some take away. You want anything?"  
  
He's about shake his head when he feels his stomach scrunch right before it lets out a loud noise. Clearly his stomach is trying to speak for itself. He'd been so caught up in the events of the night that he hadn't even realized just how hungry he was. "Yeah, just get me whatever you're getting. I think I'm going to hop in the shower real quick."  
  
Adam nods as he jumps up from the sofa and makes his way to the door. "Be back soon." He tells him before closing the door behind him.  
  
As he discards his clothes he realizes he has traces of blood on them, not a lot but enough to be noticeable. For once he's glad that Adam is as flaky as he is, he's sure Adam didn't even notice.  
  
In the quiet stillness of his shower he finally feels himself relax, finally feels his shoulders drop. He's still not sure of what the hell happened, of what any of it means, but he's glad to be done with it. Whatever that was, was not his problem, or was it?  
  
Lifting his head up, he lets the steaming spray coming from the shower head hit his face, the water running down his face only helping drown everything else out. The solitude and comfort of the shower only letting his mind wander, it's then that he remembers him. Try as he might there's one thing about tonight that refuses to leave his mind, someone he can't stop seeing as clearly as if he were standing before him. The green eyes staring back at him make his breath hitch in his throat. The soft pink lips make his tongue run along his bottom lip before his teeth bite into it. His breathing becomes shallow as his hands begin to wander, exploring his own body. It's not long before they've made their way down to his stiffening cock.  
  
He pictures those lips on his own body, imagines what they would feel like as they place soft wet kisses down his neck, the thought alone makes him throw his head back in pleasure as he begins to stroke himself. The strokes are slow at first, he's taking his time imagining those lips explore his body as the beautiful green eyes stay trained on his own. He can't help the low moans escaping his lips as his stroking becomes faster. He can’t help the moans becoming louder as he imagines those lips reaching his cock, can't help the loud groan he lets out when he pictures those lips part open to take him in.  
  
His breathing becoming heavier as he imagines himself fucking into those lips, the beautiful green eyes still trained on his, piercing right through him. As if looking straight into his soul. _My Aaron_. He hears in that soft voice that feels all too familiar and he's done. His toes curl, his eyes squeeze shut, and he bellows out a groan as he feels his whole body shake and the velvety streams of his load hit the tile wall of the shower.   
  
"What the fuck am I doing?" He asks himself, all too aware that he just pleasured himself to someone he only just met. Not to mention under the most fucked up of circumstances. He shakes his head trying to rid himself of the thoughts as he steps out of the shower, he grabs for a towel and dries himself off, still thinking of the green eyes. He's still thinking about them when he walks up sink and wipes his hand across the mirror to clear it. He's still thinking about them when the gasp escapes his mouth as he sees the stranger standing behind him in the reflection.  
  
____  
  
  
"Aaron." The name gently leaves his mouth as he starts to wake. His own eyes slowly flutter open and it all starts coming back to him. He remembers the pub. He remembers him. He remembers Aaron. After so long he finally had him within his grasp then everything went to shit. He remembers the blade meant for Aaron slicing across his back, the pain being stronger than usual, but saving Aaron was all that mattered. The last clear memory he has was sending Leyla away with Aaron. Then everything became a blur. A group of vampires all crashed in attacking all at once. Some were experienced, most were laughable at best, taking them out should have been easy, but something was wrong. He remembers his movements getting sluggish as the fight escalated. He had managed to take out half of them, puffs of ashes flowing through the air as he had torn through them before he realized what was wrong. The blade that cut through his back must have been laced with Lycan venom and he was running out of time. The fight couldn't carry on this way, he wouldn't make it if it did. He had to finish things and he had to do it quick.  
  
Robert began porting as he fought, blinking from one spot to another as he took down the idiots that dared mess with him and his. His fist is going through an enemy's chest, taking their heart along before he's straight across the room behind someone else as he takes them in a headlock a moment before snapping their neck. He knew the broken neck wouldn't finish that one off, but he was out of time, he needed to retreat before the venom overcame him.  
  
He slightly remembers arriving back to his flat before collapsing, remembers something else...  
  
"Bloody hell. I loved this shirt." He says as he remembers the shirt had been torn in various places and was covered in blood and ash.  
  
"Floral was not you, babe. Get over it." Leyla teases. The familiar voice reverberates across the large room.  
  
He slowly pushes himself off the chaise he'd been laying on and reaches for his back, patting around a bit, searching for the wound.  
  
"It's healed." He hears Leyla as she walks over to him from the bar, carrying the thermoses. "You gave us quite a scare." She tells him.  
  
"Us?"  
  
"Me and Alicia. For a split second, I thought that maybe the great Robert Sugden had been done in, by Lycan venom no less."  
  
"Oh." He says, his head hanging down in somewhat disappointment. He's not quite sure what he expected from her, but he thought that maybe, just maybe, Aaron had also been worried for him.  
  
"Don't be such idiot." She teases. "Of course, he was worried. I could see it in his eyes." She tells him, they've been together far too long for him to be able to conceal much from her. She could almost read him like a book.  
  
"Where..." He tries to ask.  
  
"He's gone." She answers before he can finish asking. She knew he would ask.  
  
"What do you mean he's gone?" He's quick to his feet as if he hadn't been seconds from permanent death only minutes ago.  
  
"As in he left the building. Went back to his, I suppose."  
  
"Now's not the time to be cheeky, he could be in danger."  
  
"I'm not an idiot, Robert. I had Gerry trail him just in case. So, if anything happens, Gerry will let us know."  
  
Robert paces for a few minutes before he gives in and settles back into the chaise. "What happened? After I passed out I mean."  
  
"Alicia happened." She replies, a grin spreading across her face knowing dam well that's not what he was asking.  
  
"Can you be serious for just one minute?" He nearly scolds her but can't help the corner of his lips curling up.  
  
Leyla takes a seat next to him and places the thermoses aside as she reaches a hand to his face, brushing his hair away from his forehead she exhales loudly. "He didn't take it too well."  
  
"What exactly did you tell him?"  
  
"Everything...well the condensed version that is."  
  
"Everything?"  
  
"Everything. Started with the basics, you know, vampires, Lycans, witches. The stuff that would normally have a human gushing like an idiot cos of those shite movies. Then I told him he was your soulmate."  
  
"Soulmate? Did you use that exact word?"  
  
"Yeah, thought it would be easier for him to grasp. He's a bit thick." She jokes.  
  
"Watch it." He sneers in return.  
  
"Look, I'm not good at walking people through this whole thing, you know that. I tried my best, tried to get him to stay, but he wasn't having it. Thought it best to let him go and get his head around it." She tells him. "Besides, if you're right, he's not going to be able to stay away for long."  
  
"Of course I'm right." He knows it. He's known since the second he'd laid eyes on him. Yeah, he's younger than he remembers him, but there's no doubt in his mind.  
  
"Then there's nothing to worry about. Let him rest on it, let him soak it all in and then you can try again."  
  
"But I've waited so long."  
  
"Then one more night isn't going to kill you, now is it? Come on, babe. This is all a lot to take in, just let him process everything. You remember what it was like for you and don't even try to pretend cos I was right there."  
  
"Okay, okay, I get it."  
  
"Good, now eat. You need to recover properly." She tells him as she hands him a thermos. "I'll go get Alicia, so she can give you a quick over now that you're up. Make sure the venom is all out of your system."  
  
Robert nods in response and Leyla stands as he opens the thermos and places it to his mouth. He tips it up and the crimson red liquid flows down, it's just hitting his lips when he feels it, when he feels the sudden rush of panic. He knows what it is, knows what it means. It's Aaron, he's in danger. A small gasp escapes his mouth and Leyla turns to see what's wrong only to see the thermos falling to the floor. Robert has vanished.  
  
"Robert!"

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron's life is in danger and only Robert can save him and after the ordeal Aaron learns the truth about who Robert is and what they mean to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the shortest break between Chapters, not sure I'll be able to keep up this pace though.
> 
> As always please feel free to leave feedback. It's good to know if it's worth continuing.

 

**CHAPTER 3**

 

* * *

 

Aaron finds himself in a headlock as the man had snuck up behind him wrapping an arm around his neck while his other one held his head in place. "Poor little chav, no one here to protect you this time?" The stranger asks into his ear, mocking him. Try as he might there was no budging, no way for him to break free. The man was unbelievably strong and every time he made an attempt to break free he could feel the hold on his neck tighten. He was beginning to feel light-headed, could feel himself beginning to slowly lose consciousness, and all he can think of are those green eyes.   
  
Robert. The name runs through his thoughts just before he looks up into the mirror and a grin suddenly spreads across his face.  
  
"What’s so funny, mate?"   
  
"You're so dead." Aaron tells him matter of factly as he chuckles.  
  
"You don't say, and who's going to kill me? You?" The man cackles back seconds before he hears the reply in his ear.  
  
"Me." Robert sneers as he quickly snaps the man's neck. He's not at full strength, still hasn't fully recovered from the Lycan venom, a full out fight might only endanger both his and Aaron's life. This will have to do for now, besides, it's clear that they're after Aaron and now they have a way to get answers. Robert lets the man drop to the floor as he looks Aaron over for any injuries. "Did he hurt you?" He asks.  
  
Aaron can feel the flush of red spread across his face as he realizes he's still nude from the shower he had taken minutes before he was attacked. All he wants to do is run and hide, but he doesn't. He feels the strange pull towards Robert, a pull he can't quite seem to shrug off, not that he wants to. He bites down on his lower lip hoping to stop the blush from spreading, he's about to turn when he notices the same flush on Robert. Only the red shows much more prominent on his fair skin. Averting his eyes Robert clears his throat and reaches past him. "Here." He says in a gentle voice, as he hands Aaron a towel to cover himself with.  
  
"What's the matter, you don't like what you see?" Slips past Aaron's lips before he even realizes. He's not sure where it came from. Why he suddenly feels so sassy. Something about his response feels familiar.   
  
Robert nearly chokes on his words. "No...No, I mean, not no. That's not what I meant. I mean, I like what I see. I really like what I see...fuck. I'm sorry." His face only becoming redder as he digs himself further.  
  
Aaron can't help but let out a soft laugh. Yeah this definitely feels familiar to him. This banter, it feels so natural. It feels like something he's used to.  
  
The smile on Aaron's face makes him weak in the knees, it's been so long since he last saw it and he hates himself for having to cut things so quick. "We have to go, Aaron. There will be more and I'm not sure how much I can handle in my condition. I haven't fully recovered."  
  
Aaron's smile quickly fades away. "What do you mean there will be more?"  
  
"Aaron, they're after you. I don't know why, but they're after you and there's no chance you're staying here. I need to keep you safe." He says stepping closer to Aaron.  
  
"I can take care of myself."   
  
"Yeah, under normal circumstances I'm sure you could, but this...this isn't something you can handle."   
  
Everything seems to be getting out of hand. First the pub, then the flat, now this. His world is coming to a crash and he's tired of feeling so defenseless in all of it. He's had enough, he needs to take control of his own life, of his own destiny.  
  
"Don't ya dare tell me what I can or can't handle. You don't know me. You don't know anything about me!" Aaron shouts as he storms out of the bathroom and heads into his bedroom. He's put on some trousers and has a shirt over his head when Robert walks in and leans against the door frame. He opens his mouth to say something but quickly shuts it, thinking over what he wants to say.  
  
"These guys are dangerous. You don't know what they're capable of. Let me protect you, Aaron." Robert offers as he pushes himself off the door frame and closes in on him, looking intently into his eyes.  
  
"I don't need anyone protecting me!"  
  
"Aaron." He says gently as he steps in even closer.  
  
"Fuck off." He says as he takes a swing landing a hit right to Robert's jaw. "Fuck!" He shouts the moment he feels the hit connect, it felt like hitting a brick wall.  
  
"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Robert's already to his side holding on to his shoulder as he reaches for his hand.  
  
Aaron's doubled over in pain nearly crying holding on to his hand when he feels Robert take his hand into his. The touch brings back that spark he felt back at the pub when they first had contact and it only makes him want to cry even more. Not because of the pain, yeah, his hand fucking hurts, almost feels like it could be broken, but because his head is such a mess. His emotions are all over the place. He's so lost, so confused and as much as he wants to be angry with Robert he can't. Fuck if he knows why, but the second the words "fuck off," escaped his mouth he regretted them. He regretted them more than he had ever regretted anything. His eyes are glassy with unshed tears when he looks back up to Robert, when he looks back into his green eyes and he suddenly feels at ease. He feels grounded.  
  
"You're such an idiot." He says.  
  
"I'm what?" Robert replies, feigning offence.  
  
"I just told you to fuck off and decked you." He chuckles. "And here you are apologizing to me. I'm... I'm so sorry, Robert. You saved my life and now you're just trying to help me out and here I am being a git."  
  
"You have nothing to apologize for." Robert says shaking his head. "I know how fucked up this all is, how confused you must be, but please just trust that all I want is to help you out."  
  
"Why? Why would you go through all that trouble for me? I'm nobody." He says as a single tear finally breaks free.  
  
Robert places his hand to Aaron's face, his thumb gently rubbing away the tear. "That's not true, Aaron. Not to me. You know that, deep down you know it. You can feel it, can't you?" He asks in that low voice that somehow feels so familiar to Aaron.  
  
He's still not completely sure of what it all means, what this pull to Robert is, but he's done fighting it. He's done fighting something that feels so natural, something that feels like it was meant to be. He gives in and leans in, reaching for Robert's lips with his own and his heart nearly shatters when Robert pulls away.  
  
"I'm... I'm sorry, we should, uh, we should probably get moving." He says clearing his throat. "If he has any back up, they'll probably be here any second now. We need to get out of here."  
  
"No, Robert. I can't just leave, what about Adam? If I'm in danger so is he, he's my flatmate."  
  
"Fuck." Robert lets out rolling his eyes. "We don't have time for this."  
  
"I'm sorry, but I'm not leaving without him."  
  
Letting out a loud exhale Robert reaches for his pocket to retrieve his phone. He quickly dials and places the phone to his ear. "Gerry. You were supposed to be keeping an eye on him, what the hell were you doing? Then why was he attacked inside his own flat? You know what, it doesn't matter. You seen his flatmate. Yeah, him. Okay I need you to pick him up and bring him back to ours. Now." Ending the call he turns his attention back to Aaron and tells him to gather some things while he retrieves the intruder, now knowing that Adam will be safe, Aaron nods before making his way to his closet and grabbing a duffle bag to start packing.  
  
As Aaron packs Robert walks back into the bathroom and kneels down to get a good look at the man whose neck he snapped minutes ago. Everything had happened so fast he didn't even get a chance to see his face properly. Not that it would have mattered, not that it would have changed his mind. No one threatens his Aaron. No one. "Shit." Quietly slips past his lips as he lifts the man's head, getting a good view of his face. "Ross, what have you gotten yourself into?" He shakes his head as he picks the body up like it's a ragdoll and throws him over his shoulder as he stands. As he walks back into Aaron's room he stops just past the door and watches as he frantically runs around grabbing things and throwing them into the bag. His heart aches for him. Aaron might not know it, but his life, this life, as he knows it is over. He can never go back. Not because he won't let him, he'd never force him into anything, but because his life is now in danger. Worst of all he doesn't even know why. As he glances at the man on his shoulder, a man from his own coven, it becomes clear he's not sure who can be trusted.  
  
"You ready?" Robert asks just as Aaron stops packing. He watches as he stands still with his arms up, his hands on the back of his head. It all seems to be hitting him now.  
  
"Uh...Yeah, I think so." He says letting out a breath and dropping his arms to his sides, just before picking up his bag and turning to Robert. "What now?"  
  
"First things first." Robert says as he walks over to Aaron and wraps an arm around his waist, pulling him in. Their eyes meet and everything else fades away, Aaron's heartbeat feels like it's doubled in speed, his heart feels like it's about to jump out of his chest. He wishes the moment could last forever, it almost feels like it does, but then he feels his stomach drop and the air in his lungs pulled out. Just like that they're no longer at his, but the flat he had been brought to earlier by Leyla.  
  
"Take a deep breath, you'll be fine." He hears in a calm reassuring tone from the man holding him tightly. He looks back up into the green eyes and everything settles. Something about them brings him comfort, reminds him of home.  
  
"What are you playing at?" A loud shrilling voice shouts from across the room. Leyla is on her feet quickly making her way to them, she's not happy. "Robert Jacob Sugden, you don't just up and leave like that. You nearly died!" Her eyes widen when she realizes he has someone on his shoulder. "Who is that? What happened?"  
  
"Anyone else in here?" He quickly asks her, she shakes her head in response. "Get Alicia in here, we need to talk." Leyla nods and quickly leaves the room. With Leyla gone Robert turns back to Aaron. "Can you get one of those chairs there?" He asks, nodding towards the dining room table. Aaron drops his bag and runs over and drags the chair back with him, it's heavier than it looks. Robert lowers the man on to it and quickly runs over to a large glass cabinet that contains a large array of weapons and shackles. He bites into his thumb drawing blood and runs it down the center of the two doors before a hissing sound emits from it and the doors open. Robert carefully closes the doors and returns with a heavy looking pair of shackles. He places one on the man's wrists and the other around his ankles just as Leyla walks back in with Alicia. "Shut the doors." He tells Leyla, then turns to Alicia. "We need some privacy. No eyes, no ears."  
  
Alicia nods before turning and bringing her hands together, she closes her eyes and begins whispering. Just like earlier, the lights flicker and a low humming sound fills the air for a second before it goes away and the lights go back to normal. "We're clear."   
  
"Is that Ross?" Leyla asks as she approaches Robert and Aaron.  
  
"He attacked Aaron back at his."  
  
"Fucking Gerry." Leyla says rolling her eyes. "Wait...how did you know?"  
  
"I felt it. Not just that, it was like I saw what he saw." He says nodding towards Aaron. "It's how I knew where to go."  
  
Alicia smiles. "That’s great, Robert. It means your connection is getting stronger."  
  
"What do you mean?" Aaron asks. All too aware of the connection. He can feel it, can feel it getting stronger and he’s not sure what it is or what it means, but he aims to find out.  
  
"Are you kidding me?" She lets out exasperated. "They haven't told you?"  
  
"I haven’t had the time!" Robert bites back. "And your sister wasn't of much help. She gave him the stupid short fairy tale version."  
  
"Oi, if you hadn't passed out like the wimp you are and nearly died, maybe you could have told him properly."  
  
"Enough...enough." Alicia jumps in to stop the bickering.  
  
Robert nods his head. "You're right. Now's not the time anyway because we have bigger problems." He starts before he pauses and turns to Aaron. "I'll tell you everything properly after this, I promise." Aaron nods in response and Robert turns his attention to the others. "So, first things first; Aaron's in danger." He says unaware that he’s taken Aaron's hand in his, their fingers laced together. Both Alicia and Leyla notice but make no mention of it. "Back at the pub that guy said the Whites hired him. At first, I thought it was about me since I've been trailing that little shit Lachlan, maybe it had been meant as a warning to back off. Now this." He says as he points to the shackled man. "Ross attacks him at his flat. One of our own, from my fucking coven. The Whites have been making big moves for ages now, gaining power, absorbing smaller covens into their own and so far, I've been unable to catch them in something I can take them down for. Now this, possibly buying members of my coven!"  
  
"You don't think Ross is working for them, do you?" Leyla asks, her own concern growing with Robert's. They've been together so long, there's no one's judgement she trusts more than his.  
  
"Yeah, there's no other explanation. The Whites hire someone to take Aaron out at the pub and send in reinforcements. Then Ross just happens to turn up and his flat to possibly kill him. That's not a coincidence."  
  
"Is that why you wanted this level of privacy, you think we've been infiltrated?" Alicia asks.  
  
Nodding his head Robert replies. "Besides you two, I don't know who we can trust, who else might've been bought. Who else might be spying on us for them. We need answers and we need them now, it's why I brought him in. We don't have time for his neck to heal back though, so I'm going to need you to speed things up." He says turning to Alicia.  
  
"No problem." She says closing her eyes as she begins to chant forming seals with her hands.  
  
They hear a cracking sound come from Ross' neck moments before his eyes start to slowly flutter open.  
  
"I can take it from here, if you want to take him somewhere and fill him in." Leyla tells Robert.  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Come on, babe. You know how good I am at making men talk." She replies, giving him a friendly wink as she slowly moves her line of sight to Robert and Aaron's joined hands.  
  
Robert's eyes go wide when he realizes what she's looking at. He hadn't even realized that it had happened, and he can't help the sheepish smile that spreads on his face when Aaron looks down to see and doesn't pull away. "Thanks." Robert says to Leyla keeping his eyes on their hands. "Please don't kill him. We need everything he knows. If Alicia needs to go in and pull his memories by force, so be it."  
  
"Oi, it's not the first time we've done this you know. Now go on." She shoos him away.  
  
As he smiles he looks back up at Aaron, looking intently into his blue eyes, his breath hitching in his throat instantly. "There's somewhere I want to take you. If you don't mind."  
  
Aaron feels his heart skip a beat as their eyes meet, as they both seem to melt into each other's presence. "Yeah, okay."  
  
As Robert stands, he pulls Aaron up with him, and pulls him close into himself. Aaron wraps his arms around him and places his head on Robert's shoulder. The need for physical contact with him growing by the minute. He closes his eyes as he breathes him in and with huff of his breath a slight tingle reverberates through his body. The feeling, though new to him, makes him feel at ease, makes the jump so much easier than the previous two. He hasn't opened his eyes, but he can hear the wind in the air, the birds chirping in the distance, and he knows they're no longer in the flat. They're outside. Aaron opens his eyes and lifts his head from Robert's shoulder as he looks around. A beautiful ocean of green surrounding them as the cool breeze blows through sending waves across the fields of green. It's so peaceful, so familiar. He feels like he's been there before.  
  
"This is my favorite place in the whole entire world." Robert says. His voice so calm and loving. "This is where I died the first time, so long ago."  
  
"You what?"  
  
"It's where I died. The first time."  
  
"What do you mean the first time?"  
  
Robert smiles at Aaron as he sees the wonder in his eyes. Fuck how he misses them looking at him this way, looking at him like he's the whole fucking world. "The world is so big, Aaron. So big and full of so many mysteries. I know Leyla tried to fill to you in, but she's clearly bad at it. There's so many things out there that you've never thought were possible, so many places, so many beings. Like Vampires and Lycans, some more rare than others, but there's so many of them."  
  
"Okay." Aaron nods. "So where does this soulmate thing come in?"  
  
A small chuckle escapes his mouth. "It's actually thought that the whole story about soulmates comes from what we are." He says gesturing between them. "Well, what you are, what I used to be."  
  
"And what's that exactly?"  
  
"Well, there isn’t some fancy name for it, like Vamipre or Lycan, but what you are Aaron is an Immortal Soul."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"There's a belief that long ago when souls were created by the powers that be, there were some souls that were simply made for one another, almost as if made from one whole and split into two. These souls were special in that their bond was so strong, so powerful, that even death wouldn't stop them. Though their bodies would eventually pass, their essence, the souls themselves would continue on. They would be reborn, and they would find their way back to each other." He tells him, his hand cupping Aaron's face. "You were here with me when I died. I can still remember it like yesterday. The look in your eyes, the tears that ran down your cheeks as I took my last breaths, I remember it all."  
  
"Then how come I don't remember any of it?"  
  
"You do, Aaron. I know you do. I saw it in your eyes before. The memories, they're in there. They might be deep down in there but they're in there. It might take you some time to remember, but it'll happen. It always does."  
  
"Always?"  
  
A sweat laugh comes from Robert's mouth as he looks into Aaron's eyes. "We've lived many lifetimes, Aaron. Hundreds. Some long, some short, some tragic, some all-consuming, regardless we always find our way back to each other. Aaron, I'll always find my way back to you. Always." He says as a tear runs down his face.  
  
Part of him wants to tell Robert he's crazy, that this is all crazy, but the other part of him knows it’s true. It’s the latter part that wins. He's done fighting this because deep down he knows it all to be true. He remembers those flashes of memories he had before. He remembers this field, he remembers Robert dying in his arms. Most of all he remembers how the emptiness has gone away, how it's been gone since Robert walked into his pub, and he gives in. He quickly reaches up and takes Robert's lips with his own and he feels it. He feels the burst coming from within him. He feels the wave flow through, it’s like pins and needles all over his body as everything falls into place. As he remembers everything. He slowly pulls back, looking into Robert's eyes. "My Robert." He says before taking his lips again.  
  
____  
  
  
The sound of Leyla's ridiculously high heels tapping along the marble floors is all that fills the air. Alicia's invisible barrier seems to be keeping out any sound from the outside. The tapping only helping Ross' discomfort at the moment. Noticing the discomfort in his face Leyla finally takes a seat on the chaise only feet away from Ross. "Tsk tsk tsk." She starts. "I know your family was a bit on the oust, but to betray your own coven? I know you're a bit on the thick side, but really?"   
  
"What would you know? You lot sit at the top like the world belongs to you while the rest of us struggle to get by." He sneers back.  
  
"Oh, that's a load of bullshit and you know it." Leyla returns. "There is no struggling, you idiot. The coven provides for everyone equally. You are just mad about having your little side operation peddling that tainted blood put to rest. You should count yourself grateful that your father was only banished from the coven. After what you lot did, things could have been so much worse."  
  
"What do you mean what we did? All we did was try and make an extra bit peddling blood. Like that's a crime?" Ross argues.  
  
Leyla rolls her eyes as she stands and makes her way to the bar where she retrieves a tablet and begins tapping away at the screen as she walks back. Taking a seat back on the chaise she flips the tablet around so Ross can see what's on it.  
  
"This...this is what you lot did." She says as she scrolls from image to image. Body after body lying dead, blood oozing from their eyes and ears. "That blood you were so innocently peddling was tainted, you little twat. Eight, eight members of our coven all dead because of it. We're not entirely sure what it was tainted with, but it was nasty. You would have all been executed if Robert hadn't decided against it. Instead he opted to listen to your dad and in the end only banished him and him alone."  
  
"But...but, that can't be." Ross lets out nearly in tears.  
  
"Here do you want to see the pictures again?"  
  
"No." He replies in a low voice.  
  
"What was that?" Leyla asks.  
  
"No, I don't want to see."  
  
"So, you wanna talk now?"  
  
With shame on his face, Ross nods in return.  
  
"Who?"   
  
"Some bloke. Joe...Joe Tate, but he works for the big man, Lawrence."  
  
Fuck. So right back to the Whites. What are they up to? She asks herself.  
  
"What do they want with Aaron?"  
  
"I don't know, I was just hired to pick him up. Unharmed."  
  
"So they didn't want him dead?" She asks, shocked. Unsure of what this could mean. Aaron's only a human, there's no reason they would need him for.  
  
"No. They wanted him alive, that was the one thing he was very keen on."  
  
"Besides you, do you know if there's others in the coven working for them?"  
  
"There might be. I wanted nothing with them at first, but Joe insisted that if I wasn't willing to play, there were a few others who'd happily take the money."  
  
"Shit...that's what I was afraid of."  
  
"Can...can I ask you something?"  
  
Leyla shoots him a look before relenting. "Shoot."  
  
"That blood, it came from the Whites didn't it?"   
  
Letting out a huff of air, she nods. "We don't have solid proof, but yes. We believe so. It's why we've been investigating them." She tells him. "This doesn't leave this room, you hear me?"   
  
Ross nods in return. "I want in."  
  
"No, you can't be trusted."  
  
"Please...I know the truth now, don't I. Now that I know it was those arseholes that are responsible for this, for dad, I won't stop. You have to let me in."  
  
With the current news of other possible spies within their coven, Leyla realizes that turning down another ally would not be the smartest choice. "You've already turned on your coven before, there's only one way you'll be allowed in. You'll be marked, do you accept?"  
  
Without hesitation Ross nods. "Doesn't matter. I know who's responsible for this. I know who my allegiance belongs to."  
  
Leyla nods and waves Alicia over. "Ross Barton, you are to be marked forever loyal to Blackthorn Coven, loyal to Robert Sugden. Should you ever betray that loyalty, it will result in your death. Do you accept?"   
  
Again without hesitation, Ross nods in acceptance. Alicia stands before him and forms a seal with her hands, her fingers lacing together in different formations before she whispers something under her breath and places one of her hands on the side of his neck. The sound of his skin burning beneath her touch is heard along with the grunts he lets out. As she removes her hand from his neck, the crest of the Blackthorn Coven appears.  
  
"Welcome aboard, Ross Barton."  
  
Just as she says the words, the all too familiar vibration of Robert's jump fills the air letting Leyla know he's inbound. As Robert blinks into the room with Aaron besides him Ross quickly kneels before him. He shakes his head in confusion as he looks over to Leyla and Alicia who both look on with smirks on their faces, holding back the laughter that threatens to spill out.  
  
"Get up, you idiot." Alicia tells Ross. "You're not a slave."  
  
"What's this now?" Robert asks.  
  
"He knows everything about his dad, about the blood." Leyla responds.  
  
Both Leyla and Alicia notice Robert and Aaron holding hands and return the same question to them.  
  
"What's this now?" They ask in unison.  
  
"I remember." Aaron replies. "I remember everything."  
  
Leyla and Alicia both jump with joy and rush to their side. Leyla spent a lifetime not buying any of it. Sure she had heard of Immortal Souls, but she had never known anyone who'd even claimed they were real. She never thought she'd actually witness a pair. They're so caught up in their celebration they forgot about Ross being in the room.  
  
Ross clears his throat to grab their attention, confusion all over his face.  
  
Leyla immediately jumps back and pulls Ross forward. "And he wanted in on this, so he's been marked, seeing as his loyalty is a bit sketchy." She adds.  
  
Robert exhales and shrugs his shoulders. "So? What do we know?"  
  
It's been half an hour and as they all sit around the dining table, Ross tells everything to Robert. Every last detail he had revealed to Leyla was now knowledge to the entire group. Robert wiped his palms across his face letting out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding on to. Glad about the fact that even though they didn't know how many possible spies were imbedded in his coven that he at least had one more ally within Ross.   
  
"It's clear that your boy there is a big piece in whatever game Lawrence is playing. He's not safe here." Ross tells them as fact.  
  
"I'm not a boy." Aaron quickly spits back and a prideful smirk spreads across Robert's face.  
  
"I'm sorry." Ross mocks in return.  
  
"Careful with the tone." Robert tells him.  
  
"Sorry, boss."  
  
Without knowing who can or can't be trusted within the coven, Aaron's safety there is questionable. Ross is right, it's something they all agree on. The next ten minutes is spent trying to figure out where they can hide Aaron away while they try and figure out what Lawrence is up to. Every option, every plan they come up with is thrown out just as quickly as they were thought up. All locations end up being known safe houses for the Blackthorn Coven, no way his safety would be guaranteed in any of them. It's then that Alicia nudges Leyla on her side and they share a whispered conversation before it catches Robert's attention.  
  
Clearing his throat he grabs their attention. "Anything you two want to add?"  
  
Leyla gives him an unhappy smirk at first. "I think I may know a place. No way any one would know about it.”

"And you're just saying this now?" Robert asks almost annoyed. Aaron's life is in danger here, he'd expect his best mate to be the first in line to help protect him.  


"It's with David." She says reluctantly.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Wait, what do you mean, oh? That sounds like a bad oh. Like and oh, I don't want to be a part of." Aaron adds.  
  
Within minutes and without further discussion they're all boarded in a truck heading towards the deepest parts of the Dales. So deep within the wilderness that no one would ever truly venture. Leyla sits at the front driving, with Ross in the passenger seat constantly telling her how to drive properly, while Robert, Aaron, and Alicia sit in the back seat.  
  
The drive is awkwardly silent for most of the time, occasionally filled with questions from Alicia to Aaron. Mostly about his current life and the occasional one about his past ones. It's not that she's prying, she's just helping strengthen his memories, or so she claims. Robert and Aaron occasionally share a word but mostly hold hands and take comfort in simply having each other back. So much more is said simply through touch, through the looks they give each other than even words could ever say. Robert's already assured him that Gerry will meet them there with Adam.  
  
They're nearly there when Aaron finally asks exactly what Robert was hoping he wouldn't ask.  
  
"So who's this David?" A question he quickly regrets and Leyla slams on the breaks.  
  
"David...oh David, David, David." She starts before Robert cuts her off.  
  
"Leyla, now's not the time. Please."  
  
Taking a deep breath she apologizes. "I'm sorry. It's just. He's a touchy subject."  
  
Robert lets out a laugh, catching everyone off guard. "Touchy...it’s been what, nearly 200 years?"  
  
"Ugh, shut up, you've been such a bummer for well over that. My Aaron this, my Aaron that." She laughs out.  
  
"That's not the same thing and you know it." He throws a crumpled napkin at her. Just before she starts driving again.  
  
"In any case, David's not really the problem here." She adds as a splash of concern spreads across her face.  
  
"Wait, what do you mean a problem? You didn't mention anything about a problem before." Aaron asks.  
  
"So sorry babe, I just thought we could handle it when we got there."  
  
"If David's not the problem then who is?"  
  
"That would be Tracy"  
  
"And who's Tracy?” Aaron asks.  
  
"Tracy is, well... she's the Alpha of the pack."

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're on Twitter feel free to follow me @FotografyRaptor for general robron talk and previews of upcoming chapters.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robert and Aaron arrive at Tracy's camp seeking help and when she tells them she can't do them any favors they agree to help her out with something first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer than usual so bear with me and don't get used to it. Wish every chapter could be this long.
> 
> As always please leave comments, I love reading them and I love knowing what you guys think, plus they really make all the writing worth it.

 

**CHAPTER 4**

 

* * *

 

 

Everything had nearly been a blur the moment they arrived into Ravenwolf territory deep within the North York Moors. Though they had not passed any clear barriers into it, they could tell the moment they did. The atmosphere felt different and they could feel eyes tracking their vehicle, tracking their every turn. They were only minutes away from where Leyla knew the camp to be when they began to see the heavy movements in the tree line along the unmarked road they were driving on. The movement was fast, matching their speed and clearly following their trail.  
  
"Should we be worried about that?" Aaron had asked, his breathing getting heavy as he began to see the figures behind the movements. "Whatever that is, it's big." Everything had gotten way too real for him. First Vampires, now this.  
  
Robert reached out and held his hand, pulling him in closer to himself, assuring Aaron that if anything went down, he'd keep him safe. Now that he was at full strength anyone that dared mess with them would sorely regret it. A thought that was quickly squashed by Leyla. "We're not here to start a feud with the Ravenwolf Pack, love. That's not going to do us any favors, it'll only make things worse." She looked over her shoulder chastising him.  
  
"WATCH OUT!" Ross shouted moments before Leyla slammed on the breaks, their vehicle coming to an abrupt stop, mere feet away from the two figures blocking the road. The taller of the two, a man looking to be in his thirties with a full sleeve tattoo covering his right arm begins to step towards them. His movements are very quick and guarded, the man is clearly prepared for anything by the looks in his demeanor. A boy in his late teens follows right behind him, he on the other hand looks unsure, almost apprehensive. The apprehension is all Ross needed to see the weakness.  
  
"The little one...looks like his first time playing the big leagues. He'll be easy pickings." Ross lets out.  
  
"Shut up." Leyla quickly stops him. "Did you not hear a word I just said? We don’t want to start anything here. Besides, that's David." She tells him nodding her head towards the man making his way to their vehicle.  
  
"You want us to wait in here?" Robert asked placing a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her.  
  
All she could do was roll her eyes at him in response. She knew Robert was probably just as excited to see David as she was, maybe more. Her relationship with David had always been tumultuous and it killed her to know that it had put a strain on Robert and David's friendship. They had all been close friends before the night when they were all turned and after the ups and downs of her relationship with David, a rift between them all had pushed them apart. She had secretly kept track of where David had ended up and selfishly kept it to herself. A nagging feeling telling her that somehow, she'd lose her best mate Robert if he found out she had known where David was all these years.  
  
"Don't be daft." Leyla started. "You know you want to see him just as bad."  
  
Robert gave her a sheepish smile and nodded. "Course I do. It's been too long." He replied before turning to Aaron. "Come on." He said as he tightened his grip on Aaron's hand and led him out.  
  
Aaron knew deep down that he was safe, he knew that Robert wouldn't let any harm come to him, but that didn't stop him from remembering the large figures moving along the tree line minutes ago. Whatever they were, they were massive, there were two of them, and now it was possible that they were standing before him. He stood close to Robert as they stepped out of their vehicle and inched closer behind him as the man stepped closer to them. He felt Robert gently squeeze his hand in reassurance, letting him know everything was okay. He felt himself relax and the last bit of unease leave him when he saw the massive grin spread across the man's face.  
  
"ROB!?" The man shouted in excitement. He was clearly taken aback by Robert's presence.  
  
"David." Robert greeted, taking the man's hand and releasing Aaron's as he pulled David into a hug. "Mate, it's been too long." He said as he slapped his hand on David's back.   
  
"Definitely has, mate." David responded darting his line of sight to Leyla, almost as if blaming her for the loss in contact. Slowly pulling back from the hug it didn't escape his notice how quickly Robert took Aaron's hand back into his own, lacing their fingers together. Squinting his eyes as if concentrating, he took a moment before he opened his mouth. "No fucking way. You telling me, the great Robert Sugden is into blokes?" He teased as he saw the blush of red spread across Robert's face. "Holy fuck! And you're blushing! I didn't think you lot could do that!"  
  
"Really?" Leyla jumped in. "We haven't seen each other in two hundred years and that's what you start with?" She angrily continued.  
  
"What?" David asked in return, feigning offense. "I can't ask my oldest mate about his life?"  
  
"Really, David?"  
  
"Would you rather I jump into what you did, here and now? In front of everyone?" He shot back, annoyance filling his voice. "Besides, thought I'd lighten the mood considering the circumstances."  
  
"What circumstances?" Robert asked getting a quick chuckle from David as he rolled his eyes.  
  
"Really?" He returned in the same way Leyla had seconds ago. "You two showing up here suddenly, especially after the way Leyla left things with Tracy? Must be something serious if she was desperate enough to bring you down here after all this time."  
  
Leyla angrily stepped up towards David shaking her finger at him only to quickly come to a halt when she looked past him and saw the young lad that accompanied David. Every bit of anger she had only seconds ago now replaced with shame and guilt. She had never seen him before, but she could feel it in her bones, she knew exactly who he was. As if reading her thoughts, David gave her a small nod with a sad expression in his eyes.  
  
"I wish we were coming here under better circumstances, mate. I really do, but unfortunately that's not the case and yeah, I'm desperate." Robert interrupted. He knew exactly what was going through their minds and as much as he knew it was something they had to deal with, time was not something they could spare.  
  
Clearing his throat as he's pulled from the moment with Leyla, David turns back to Robert. "So, what's the problem?"  
  
Robert takes a moment to scope out the surroundings shortly before looking past David at the young lad with him. "Can he be trusted?" He asked.  
  
"Of course he can." David quickly replied offended. "That's ou...my boy. Jacob." He says noticing the flinch in Leyla.  
  
"Figured as much." Robert replied as he nodded. Feeling confident that there were no other prying ears he recounts the events that unfolded over the past days. He tells him about the fiasco at the pub where the first attempt on Aaron's life occurred, followed by what happened in Aaron's flat, as well as the possible connection to the Whites. He carefully leaves out details about his connection to Aaron for the moment. David's an old friend but he needs to make sure he can fully trust him. Aaron's life is not something he'll easily trust to just anyone.  
  
"Listen mate, I'd love to help you, I really would, but it's not up to me." David says before pursing his lips. "Trace makes the calls. I can take you back to camp and we can talk it over with her, but it's up to her if we help or not."  
  
"Yeah, okay."  
  
"Alright. You guys can follow us. If you think you can keep up."  
  
"As if. Just tell me where it is, and I bet you a thousand quid I'll make it there before you." Robert countered knowing damn well he could jump there in seconds. Easy money.  
  
"You sure you want to drop that much? I mean, I sure could use the money if you're so easily able to part with it."  
  
"You know what? Make it A thousand a piece for every one of us that beats you lads there."  
  
"Deal. The camp is just 3 kilometers straight ahead."  
  
Leyla lets out a quiet laugh as she looks at David. "You sure you want to do this, love?"  
  
"You bet I do. No chance any one of you is faster than us. Right Jakey?" David asked over his shoulder looking towards Jacob.  
  
"No chance." Jacob replied dropping his backpack to the side as he quickly undressed and tucked his clothes into the bag before throwing it over his shoulders again and giving David a knowing grin.  
  
"Oh, I can't see this." Leyla immediately let out turning her face sideways, a disturbed look splashing across her face as David cackled before doing the same.  
  
"Oi, watch your eyes." Robert mildly teased Aaron noticing the way he checked out David as he undressed.   
  
"What?" Aaron innocently replied. "It's just...what are they doing, why are they getting naked?"  
  
"Oh, you're going to love this."  
  
"Love what...the...fuck..." Aaron slowly dragged out as he saw the way David's skin slowly changed color to a dark ashy gray. His form began to nearly double in size as his neck lengthened and slouched, carrying his now much larger head. His ears had pointed, and face slightly elongated as his muzzle filled with razor sharp teeth. The sound of snapping bones could be heard as his body underwent the transformation to his Lycan form, something that sounded and looked so excruciating only left Aaron in awe. His mouth completely slack-jawed as he looked on in amazement.  
  
"Robert...are you seeing this?' He quickly let go of Robert's hand and repeatedly taps his shoulder, unable to tear his eyes away from David.  
  
A smile spreads across Robert's face as he looks back at Aaron in the same manner. A spark of joy running through his very core at the mere sight of the wonder in Aaron's eyes. It's just as he remembers. The same eyes, the same simile, the same wonder, it's so reminiscent of a child in a candy store who's been told he can have anything he wants.   
  
"Look, look, look." Aaron continues the assault on Robert's shoulder, innocently ignorant to the fact that this is by no means Robert's first time to see a Lycan transformation. "Holy shit! They're fast!" He shouts as David and Jacob take off in the direction of their camp.  
  
"So we going? We'll never catch up at this pace." Ross asks, as he walks back towards their truck.  
  
"We're not taking the car you idiot." Leyla replies grinning at Robert.  
  
"You kidding? We're fast but we're not that fast, not to mention we have your human with us."   
  
"His name is Aaron and all things considered, you'd do well to remember that." Robert sneered back as he walked over to Leyla before placing his hand on her shoulder. "You can take loud mouth over there." He says nodding towards Ross. "I'll take Aaron and Alicia."  
  
Leyla nods and steps towards Ross taking a hold of his hand. "Better hold on to your knickers, love." She tells him.  
  
Robert pulls Aaron into him, wrapping and arm around his waist as he takes a hold of Alicia's hand. "You guys ready?" Receiving a nod from both Aaron and Alicia he smirks looking at Ross.  
  
"What's going on? What are we doing?" Ross asks seconds before he feels his eyes roll back into his head at the unfamiliar feeling. He doubles over and hits the floor, his palms lying flat on the ground as his stomach empties itself all over it. "What hell was that?" He asks gasping for air.  
  
"You alright there, princess?" Leyla asked, tapping on Ross' shoulder. "Not even our human took his first jump that bad." She says winking an eye at Aaron. "Now, how long do you think it'll take Dav..." She's asking when she feels her knee kicked out from behind her just as her left arm is twisted behind her back. An arm wraps around her neck and she feels hot breaths on the side of her face.  
  
"What about David?" A female voice asks into Leyla's ear, a voice she recognizes immediately.  
  
"Lovely seeing you as well, love." Leyla lets out filled with sarcasm. She knew this would happen, knew how awkward it would all be and if they weren't as desperate as they are, she never would have brought them all here.  
  
"Hiya Trace." Robert greets with a sheepish smile on his face, hoping their history will earn them some leniency. Tracey keeps a stern look on her face and slightly tightens her grip on Leyla.  
  
"You want to help me out here?" Leyla asks Robert.  
  
"Sorry Ley, this is between the two of you."  
  
"Nice one, mate. I'll remember that."   
  
"Where's David?" Tracy asked.  
  
"About that...we met him about three kilometers out and he was so sure he was faster than me, I sort of wagered him we could beat him to your camp. Needless to say, he lost." Robert replied, shrugging his shoulder.  
  
Releasing Leyla from her grip Tracy ran her palm down her face as she shook her head. "How much does he owe ya?"  
  
"Well, the bet was a thousand quid per each of us that beat him here. So, five thousand quid."  
  
Rolling her eyes she lets out a loud breath, clearly exasperated. "We're not made out of money you know?"  
  
"No worries, I'm not actually going to collect... I'm actually here to ask a favor of you." He says in a low tone noticing the small crowd that had gathered around them.  
  
Tracy eyed him warily before nodding. "I think we can do with a bit more privacy, yeah?" She responded waving off the stray members of her pack that had gathered around them. "Follow me."  
  
They had all been following closely behind Tracy when David and Jacob arrived. Returning to their human forms they both found themselves slack-jawed as Robert walked past them shaking his head with a smug look on his face. "What took you so long, mate?"  
  
Following Tracy, Robert took the time to scope out the camp site knowing that Leyla was doing the exact same. After their many years alive their survival instincts were second to none. They took note of all vantage points, every building, and every possible member of the pack that was within view. If anything went wrong they knew how to be prepared. The camp site was large and looked more like a settlement. Several buildings lined up on either side of a larger one that appeared to act as a community center, while smaller cabins spread out across the rest of the camp. They made their way to the furthest edge of the camp to Tracy's personal cabin and entered. While just a cabin, the place was deceptively large and modern. Just inside the door was a large sitting room where Tracy motioned them all to take a seat. "So, what's this favor you spoke of?" Tracy asked.  
  
Just like he had with David, Robert explained the events of the past days to Tracy. He told her about the attempts at Aaron's life as well as how someone from his own coven had been involved, and how he wasn't willing to risk Aaron's life within the walls of his own coven because of it. There was no easy way to find out if there were other traitors and they found themselves in desperate need of a place where they could hide Aaron away while they figure out what was going on. They need to find out why the Whites were after him. He knew there was a possibility of more traitors, but everything seemed to be tied to Aaron somehow.  
  
"I have to say I'm disappointed in you, Robert." Tracy spoke shaking her head. "Not only do you have traitors within your own coven, but worst of all you let them live after you've found them out."  
  
"To be fair, only one confirmed, but don't hold back or anything."  
  
"What, you want me to lie to you? If I let a traitor live amongst us do you think I'd have a pack willing to follow me? It's a sign of weakness." She said. "And that doesn't sound anything like the Robert we've been hearing about all these years."  
  
After hearing her words he couldn't help but be over taken by his usual cockiness. "Wait...what have you heard?" Robert asked with a grin on his face.  
  
"Come off it. Just cos we don't get involved with your kind doesn't mean we don't hear all the stories, the rumors, the legends." She ends accentuating her last word with air quotes in mock. Just because she's heard them doesn't mean she actually believes them. "I know we go back, we have a lot of history, we do, but getting involved with your kind is a bit taboo with our kind and my pack comes before anything."  
  
"Trace." David jumps in willing to speak up for Robert, even with the embarrassment he was left with when he and Jacob arrived to find that Robert and his group had arrived minutes before them.   
  
Tracy quickly cuts him off before he can add anything, already having made her decision. "I'm sorry but I can do you no favors."  
  
Stepping forward, Leyla tries and protest, but Robert places his arm in front of her stopping her in her tracks. "Sorry to have wasted your time." Robert curtly lets out as he turns to his group, ready to make the jump back to their vehicle.  
  
"Not so fast...I said I can do you no favors, however it seems today is your lucky day." Tracy states as she stands from her seat letting out a deep breath. "I have a proposition for you. Sort of an I scratch your back if you scratch mine sort of thing."  
  
"I'm listening."  
  
____  
  
  
"Can I come?" Aaron asked as he sat at the edge of the bed in his room, a worried tone carried in his voice. After everything that's happened since the night at the pub, he finally has Robert all to himself and hates the idea of being left alone. It makes his stomach turn just thinking about it. "I promise I won't get in the way."  
  
Robert reached down placing a hand on Aaron's cheek from where he stood in front of him, his thumb gently running circles across Aaron's stubble as he stares intently into his ocean blue eyes. Looking at him as if nothing else in the world existed. "Aaron, I can't risk you getting hurt. I promise we won't be too long." He tried to pacify him.  
  
Shortly after they had come to an agreement, Tracy had provided a couple of cabins for Robert and his group to stay in. Robert and Aaron had taken one, the same cabin that had been promised to Aaron for his temporary stay, while Leyla, Alicia, and Ross took the second cabin. Gerry had made contact and would be arriving with Adam by night fall, just in time for Robert to head out with his team and Tracy's. He was glad that Aaron would at least have Adam to keep him company, though he wasn't sure what type of company he'd be once Aaron caught him up to speed on everything.  
  
Aaron leant into Robert's hand practically melting into his touch. The events of the past forty-eight hours had been a whirlwind of an experience and that wasn't even counting the lifetimes worth of memories that had come flooding back to him. In this moment, nothing else mattered. Not Vampires, not the Lycans, not even his best mate. Robert was all he wanted to think about, he was all he wanted to have, and he couldn't wait any longer. He quickly stood from the bed and placed his lips to Robert's in a bruising kiss, a kiss so powerful it sent sparks through his entire body. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It's as if his body now remembered Robert's, the contact between them sending his body into overdrive. If Robert was leaving soon, there was no way he would let him go before he got what he wanted, what he needed from him. He grabbed Robert by his arms and spun them both all the while pushing Robert back. No sooner had Robert landed on the bed that Aaron straddled him, his own legs on either side of Robert's hips, and his lips again taking Robert's. Soft moans escaped Robert's mouth as Aaron's tongue parted his lips, their tongues swirled around with one another as Aaron's hands made their way to the hem of Robert's shirt.  
  
As much as he wanted this, as much as he wants to have Aaron, it occurred to him that maybe now is not the best time. He needs to keep his mind on what's at hand. He needs to stay focused...but mostly he's afraid he might hurt Aaron. His own strength might be too much for Aaron to take. As he feels Aaron's hands tugging at the hem of his shirt he pulls back from the kiss and tries to sit up. To his surprise Aaron's hands are quickly on his chest pushing him back down. What surprises him more is that when he tries to sit up again he can't seem to budge from under Aaron's hold. His hold is too strong. Aaron's strength is overpowering his own somehow. Part of him wants to stop what's happening and figure out what this new development means, the other part of him is way too turned on by it to care, so he goes with it.  
  
He quickly reaches for the hem of Aaron's shirt and pulls it over his head as his own hands immediately roam over Aaron's bare skin. His fingers trace along every inch he can reach leaving goosebumps in their wake as they make their way down to Aaron's hips. His brows raise in question as he looks into Aaron's eyes and Aaron simply smiles and grinds himself into Robert. Having Aaron grind down on him sends him over the edge and he can't take it anymore. He takes Aaron's lips and sits up simultaneously, keeping Aaron from pushing him back down. He leads them up to their feet and spins them around again, so Aaron now has his back to the bed. With his hands still planted on Aaron's hips, he turns him to face the bed and pushes him down before leaning over him, his own chest barely making contact with Aaron's back as he places wet kisses to his neck.   
  
Small gasps escape Aaron's mouth as those kisses begin to trail down his back, until he feels Robert's fingers under the waistband of his jeans, until he feels them being pulled down to his ankles. The small gasps are replaced by a loud exhale the moment he feels the heat of Robert's tongue running from his taint to his hole.  
  
"Fucking hell." Aaron lets out between breaths. "Just fuck me, Robert. Please. I need ya."  
  
Aaron's emotions are running high, it all seems so crazy, so fast. His body and mind still catching up to all those lifetimes worth of memories. He's just met Robert, yet he's known him for so much longer. He's always known him. He's always missed him. Since the day he was born twenty-four years ago, he's been waiting for him and he's done waiting.  
  
"Please, Robert."  
  
Please Robert. The words alone send shivers down his spine. Words he's heard thousands of times from Aaron through so many lifetimes. Words he'll never get tired of. Words he couldn't possibly ignore.   
  
"Please, Robert."  
  
"No, before that”.  
  
"Just fuck m... oh fuck." He grunts as Robert pushes inside him. "Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."  
  
"It's okay, just breath, relax." Robert whispers into Aarons ear as he runs his hands along Aaron's sides. "I've missed you so much, Aaron." He says in that voice he's always reserved just for him.  
  
The voice that immediately puts Aaron at ease, that makes him relax. The sting he felt when Robert entered him had waned as his hole adjusted to the welcomed intrusion. Fuck, Robert was big and fuck has he missed this. He begins to slowly push back onto him letting him know he is ready and Robert begins to thrust back in a steady rhythm. The rhythm is slow at first as he pulls out as far as he can before thrusting back in hard as he's willing to go with Aaron. Every thrust pulls filthy noises from Aaron's mouth which only encourages Robert to pick up his pace. Every thrust comes faster and harder and Aaron's head only throws back in pleasure as Robert begins to hit his prostate. He can feel his cock leaking already and he hasn't even touched himself. He can feel his heart racing, it's pounding like it's about to burst through his chest and it doesn't go unnoticed. He can feel Robert licking at his neck and he's not sure how he can tell, how he can feel it, but he can. He can feel just how turned on it's making Robert. "Bite me, Robert." He says in a rough gravelly voice.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Please." He begs and lets out a loud gasp when he feels Robert's fangs break the skin on his neck. His tongue running along the punctures as the warm crimson fluid seeps out. The bite was right near the vein that was straining on his neck. The moment Robert saw he couldn't stop thinking about it. Deep moans escape Aaron's mouth as he feels the suction on his neck. His eyes roll back into his head and euphoria overtakes him as Robert's thrusting gets more intense. After a moment Robert pulls back from his neck and turns his head back enough to take his lips. His tongue parting his lips as the iron like taste of his own blood envelops his mouth and it all becomes too much. "Robert, I'm going to come. Fuck me harder. Harder. Fuck. Oh fuck!" He's shouting as he feels the barrage on his prostate, as he feels the tightening in his stomach, his breathing getting shallower, he knows he's about to explode. A string of expletives escapes his lips as his load explodes from him. Stream after velvety stream drips from his untouched cock, every last drop landing on the boxers still around his ankles. He can feel the rhythm in Robert's thrusts change and he can tell he's close to his own orgasm. It's then that he asks. "Can I taste yours."  
  
Without question Robert places his wrist to his mouth and bits down, with his fangs having pierced the flesh he places it to Aaron's mouth before his lips cover the punctures. The action is so erotic and filthy at the same time that it sends Robert over the edge. His own orgasm explodes as he thrusts into Aaron, his load shooting into him. "Fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck." He cries into Aaron's ears as he comes to a stop and collapses onto him spent.  
  
"Is it weird if I said I've missed that?" Aaron asks between pants.  
  
"Why would it?" Robert asks as he pulls out of Aaron and rolls to his side, letting Aaron roll over so they lie face to face.  
  
"Dunno...guess I'm still wrapping my head around all this. The memories from our previous lives reminding my body of everything we've experienced together, it's so weird." He tries to explain and notices the smile that had just been plastered on Robert's face falter, he almost looks hurt. It's clear to him that his words are failing him after the mind-numbing sex they'd just had "But in the best kind of way." He adds, making Robert smile again and fuck he would do anything to see that smile for the rest of his life.  
  
"I know it's strange, but it will pass I promise. It's like your brains has to rewire itself, lacing all those memories, all those lifetimes into your brain. I remember my last time, I thought I had gone mad. I'd spent years dreaming of you, of us, missing you, someone I had never met. If you hadn't found me, Aaron, I don't know if I would have made it." He tells him before letting out a laugh. "Fuck. I'm no good at this. Never have been have I?"  
  
With a smile on his face Aaron laughs. "No, you haven't. You've always been terrible at it."  
  
"Here I am trying to make you feel better about what you’re going through and all I'm doing is making it sound worse."  
  
"Yeah, you kind of are."  
  
"Oi, I'm trying." Robert says as he throws himself over Aaron. Their chest pressed against each other's, his elbows on either side of Aaron's head holding him up as his fingers run through his hair. Robert looks deep into Aaron's eyes and smiles. "You have no idea how much I've missed ya. Don't ever leave me again." He tells him before leaning down and taking his lips.  
  
"Well, you can make it, so I can't. You can turn me. Make me like you. We'll have forever together." Aaron replies.  
  
The request makes his stomach drop. It's what he wants deep down, what he wants more than anything. Forever with Aaron, but turning him could mean the end of things, turning him is something he may not be willing to risk. It's something he can't hide from him, he needs to tell him.  
  
"Aaron, I..."  
  
A knock at the door to their cabin cuts him off and he takes the opportunity to drop the subject for now. He’s quickly on his feet and in the bathroom wiping himself down before bringing a fresh towel for Aaron to do the same.  
  
"It's time, Robert." Leyla says through the door. "Tracy's expecting us at the big house in five."

With Leyla’s words coming to a stop, Robert turns back to Aaron with a sad expression in his eyes. He can’t help but feel the hurt knowing they’ll be apart again, but he reminds himself he’s spent the last two hundred years waiting for him, another couple of hours should be a stroll. “Come on, least you can do is see me off.”

“You sure I can’t talk you into letting me go?” Aaron asks in his most sincere voice. “I don’t want to be away from you. I don’t want to be alone.”

“You won’t be, Gerry will be here soon with Adam. They’ll keep you company, plus Tracy has posted Jacob to watch over you…so trust me, you won’t be alone.”

Aaron pouts as he quickly pulls his trainers off before removing his jeans and boxers. With Robert’s eyes trained on him he discards the boxers and puts his jeans back on followed by his top. “Oi, like what you see?” He teases.

“No…I don’t just like, I love.” Robert winks in return. He takes Aaron’s hand and leads him towards the front door stopping shortly of it and turns back to Aaron. “I love you so much, Aaron.” He says cupping his face between his hands. “And I’m so sorry that you’ve been pulled into all of this.”

“Don’t be stupid. You couldn’t have known any of this would happen.”

“Still.”

“Still nothing. You just hurry back to me, yeah?”

Robert nods before placing a soft gentle kiss to Aaron’s lips.

____

 

It’s a quiet night out. The sky is clear, and the moon hangs high, all that can be heard for miles around is the breeze in the air and the calls of the wild. As soon as Robert had left along with Leyla, Alicia, Ross, Tracy and David, Aaron found himself being shadowed by Jacob. He certainly wasn’t alone just as Robert had mentioned he wouldn’t. He hated the idea of being alone, so he left his cabin and walked around the camp for a while, getting himself acquainted with the place he’d be calling home for the foreseeable future, until Robert could sort out what was going on. With Jacob following his every step he ended up at the camps center grounds where a few members of the pack had all been quietly enjoying a bonfire.  He took a seat on an empty log and threw his head back to look at the sky. This was just what he needed, some peace and quiet without the solitude.

“Is it true?” Jacob asked, pulling him back from his own thoughts.

“Is what true?” Aaron replied sighing heavily in his head. So much for the quiet.

“You seen them fight?”

“Seen who fight?”

“Robert and Leyla.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” He replied caught off guard by the wonder in Jacobs face. The same wonder that now piqued his own interest. “Why?”

“Those two are legends!” He said with excitement.

“My mum…Tracy, she wasn’t kidding when she said that we’ve all heard the stories. We may not get involved with Vampire business, but we still hear about it.”

Aaron quirked a brow as his interest grew with Jacob’s words. He turned his body and gave him his full attention. “What do you mean they’re legends?”

“Mate…you’re walking around with The Blond Demon and The She-Devil.”

Aaron’s eyes widen but all he could do was shake his head at Jacob. “You say that like I’m supposed to know what that means.”

“Oh my god…you don’t know…oh my god, he doesn’t know about The Blond Demon and The She-Devil.” He says, turning to the others around the bonfire, every last one nearly cackling at the declaration.

“What’s so special about them?” Aaron asks.

Jacob can’t help but contain the excitement in his voice. It’s not often he gets to tell someone the story. He clears his throat and tells Aaron the story just as he had once heard it. He tells him how they’ve taken entire Covens down all on their own. Just the two of them. He tells him how the last one they took down just over a hundred years ago, they didn’t just take it down, but they completely decimated it in a single night. They left no survivors. Everyone heard about that one. The Iron Clad Coven was their name and they were nearly two hundred members strong. The Coven had gone mad, they had threatened to expose themselves and not just themselves but all others; Vampires, Lycans, Witches, you name it. The leaders from every Lycan Pack, Vampire, and Witch Covens came together shortly after and decided their fate. The fate that would have been dealt by The Blond Demon and She-Devil.

Aaron finds himself slack-jawed just listening, doesn’t know if he should be terrified or turned on. “Are you serious.”

Jacob simply smiles back and nods. “Like I said…legends.”

____

Stepping out of the vehicle they had driven into the Moon Crest Pack’s territory, Robert looks to the clear sky, bright moon in plain view and he wonders if Aaron is doing the same. Something in him tells him he is, perhaps it is why he looked up in the first place. His thoughts are interrupted by Tracy clearing her throat, clearly trying to get his attention. She nods her head then begins walking out in front of the group. “This way.” She says.

After a short walk they arrive to a camp a bit smaller than Tracy’s and spot an older woman with long straight hair in the distance. She appears to have been there waiting for their arrival with a few others not far behind her. She waves Tracy over as she herself begins to walk towards them, meeting half way.

“Thank you for coming, Tracy.” The woman says.

“No need for thanks, Harriet.” Tracy replies before Harriet quickly steps back scrunching her face.

“Vampires? What is this?”

“They’re old friends, Harriet. I’ll vouch for them.” Tracy replies. “And they’re actually here to help.”

“Why would they help us over their own kind?” Harriet snips back.

“What do you mean our kind? What exactly is going on?” Robert asks stepping forward.

“Come on, Harriet. You can trust them.” Tracy pleads.

Relenting, Harriet lets out a deep breath and starts from the beginning. She tells them how things started several months ago when two members of their pack went missing, something that wouldn’t be too serious as it wasn’t unheard of for Lycans to abandon their packs. Pack life doesn’t work out for all of them. Some tend to be loners while others care for the more modern lifestyles that only the cities can provide. Isolated country life wasn’t for everyone. Things however, progressed over the next few months as members kept disappearing. It started with members that lived on the edges of the camp, members that wouldn’t have been missed, and it had escalated to younger members even a couple of pups. The worst yet, was that the last member of their pack to go missing was their Alpha. Harriet only acted as the matriarch of the pack and was doing everything she could to figure out what was going on, unfortunately for her, whatever was being done, it appeared to have been orchestrated by someone who knew what they were doing. They were covering their tracks well and Harriet could not get a single lead. At least not until tonight.

“So, have you guys found anything new?” Tracy asks

“Actually, we have. I feel so stupid for having missed it before, but earlier today I went back over to his and I couldn’t get out of my mind how precise everything looked. It felt like it had been staged, so I started checking out his favorite hunting spots and that’s when I found it.” She said.

“Found what?”

“The area where he was attacked. There’s signs of a struggle and what I believe to be Vampire ashes.”

“You sure about that?” Robert steps in.

Harriet nods her head in response. “I’m sure.”

Robert looks back to Alicia who nods in return already knowing what he’s thinking. “Can you take us there?” Robert asks.

“Follow me.”

Harriet leads them all to a river bank not too far away from their camp. After a quick look it becomes clear she wasn’t kidding. There was definitely a struggle there and there were definitely Vampire ashes in the area. Robert, Leyla, and Ross could all smell them. Robert looks around and gets agreeing nods from them, it’s obvious they agree. This was an attack, an attack orchestrated by Vampires.

“You were right Harriet. This was definitely an attack…and several Vampires were killed here as well. Your Alpha must have taken a few down, he certainly didn’t go down without a fight.”

“Shit!” Harriet replies. “It’s what I was afraid of.”

Robert turns to look at Alicia and nods. Stepping forward Alicia closes her eyes before turning back to the others. “I’m going to need you all to step back a bit. Give me some room.”

Everyone nods and steps back a few feet before she turns and begins forming seals with her hands. Her fingers lacing with one another in various formations. “Elders of the woods, show us what you have seen.” She calls out and faint sounds begins to fill the air, almost like echoes. It’s snapping twigs on the floor at first as the ghostly image of Carl in his Lycan form comes into view just near the river bank. It’s clear that he’s hunting.

“What the fuck…are you all seeing this?” David asks in whisper.

“Shut up you idiot, you’ll ruin her concentration.” Leyla hisses.

It’s not long before the sound of more snapping twigs fills the air. So many twigs. Then everything happens almost in a blur. A lone Vampire dashes towards Carl but he’s quickly swatted away with the swing of a massive claw that nearly tears him in half. That’s when a second and third attacker hit Carl from the back, grabbing his attention and they hold it long enough for two more attackers to flank him from his sides, both using whips that appear to be armored in silver. They both land several whips before wrapping his legs with the whips and stunting his mobility and a final attacker shoots him with tranquilizers. In a last-ditch effort, he seemed to have overpowered the two holding his legs, pulling them towards himself and literally tearing them to pieces. His movements began to slow as the tranquilizers took effect, and in his last waking moments he managed to kill a fourth Vampire. The remaining two Vampire shackled him and dragged him away as the ghostly images fade away.

“That’s all they could show me.” Alicia says.

“I don’t get it…what would they want with Lycans?” Tracy asks. “We don’t get involved with your kind. What could they possibly want with us?”

“Alicia. You think you can recall the ashes?” Robert asks. “If we can identify at least one, we have something to start with.”

“Yeah, give me a second.” She says as she picks up a branch and begins drawing symbols around her in a circle, before she drops the branch and begins forming seals with her hands again as she chants something under her breath. It so low that not even Tracy, David, or Harriet can hear it. Slowly the whistling of air picks up as swirls of ash float towards Alicia, all gathering at the ground and collecting as they build up into a figure, into a man, a man that Robert quickly recognizes.

“Fuck!” He lets out.

“What? You know him?” Tracy asks

“Yeah, I’d recognize that prick anywhere. That is…that was Alex Mason, part of The Whites Coven.”

“You kidding me right?” Leyla quickly responds.

“They’re not after Lycans themselves…it’s their venom. I know who’s behind this.” Robert says.

“How, how do you know?” Tracy asks

“That attack at the pub where we saved Aaron…I didn’t mention it before cos I didn’t think it meant anything but now…now it all makes sense.”

“What does? Will you just spit it out?”

“That night I almost died. One of the attackers had a blade laced with Lycan venom, we haven’t used Lycan venom in ages. Fuck, we outlawed the use of it for several reasons including the fact that we are at peace with Lycans. The Whites were behind that attack, they were behind Ross’ betrayal, behind his father’s, and now this. Everything seems to be pointing back to them. They’re up to something, something major and we need to figure out what it is they…what it is they…they.” Robert couldn’t finish what he was saying. “Something’s wrong. Something’s really wrong…we have to go.” He says looking to Leyla, between the two of them they hold on to everyone in the group and blink away from the river bank.

____

The crackling noises and embers erupting from the bonfire holds his gaze. Something about it so soothing. Regardless of how he felt at first, he’s enjoying Jacob’s company. Something about him reminds him of himself at that age, or at least that’s what he thought at first.

“How old are ya, kid?” Aaron asks.

Jacob lets out a bellowing laugh holding on to his sides and nearly falls off the log. “Mate, I’m older than you…way older than you.”

Aaron squints his eyes concentrating hard, trying to discern if he’s lying or not. “Really, mate. How old are you?”

“I’m about two hundred…give or take.” He says with a grin on his face.

“Bullshit!” Aaron nearly chokes out. “So how come you look like chav?”

“Cheeky.” Jacob mocks in response.

“Seriously though…you look like a kid.”

Jacob turns his full attention to Aaron, he tells him about Lycans, about their differences to Vampires. Unlike Vampires, Lycans can be either turned or naturally born. Anyone can be turned to a Lycan though many don’t survive the first transformation. Being born only happens when two Lycans mate, meaning a Lycan mating with a human wouldn’t result in the birth of a Lycan. Also, unlike Vampires, Lycans age to a degree. Lycans will age at severely slower rate than a human until they reach their peak maturity at which point they stop aging just as Vampires do when they are turned.

“Ah…so you haven’t hit puberty yet, is what you’re getting at?” Aaron jokes.

“Arse.” Jacob says rolling his eyes. Moments before he’s quickly on his feet and alert. His head turns from side to side quickly as if he’s listening in on conversations happening in separate locations. After a few moments he stops and looks back to Aaron. “I need you to stay here. Please don’t move. I’ll be back.” He says before quickly running off.

 _So much for not being alone_. He’s telling himself when he sees the figure in the distance walking his way. It’s too dark to see who it is, but he knows it’s safe there in the camp. It’s not until he sees the second figure behind the other one that a bit of worry hits him. There’s no reason for anyone other than Jacob to seek him out there at the camp. He shoots of the log and he’s on his feet when he hears it, the shout, calling his name.

“Aaron, mate!”

“Ad? Is that you?”

“Mate!” Adam shouts before he takes off in a sprint towards Aaron. He’s throwing his arms around Aaron and ruffling his head shortly after. “What the fuck is going on, mate?”

Aaron exhales loudly as he looks at Adam, unsure of how to break it all to him. It kills him to know that Adams life can no longer go back to the way it was before and it’s all because of him. He’s trying to figure out the right words when he sees the second figure approaching them “You must be Gerry.” He says over Adam’s shoulder, looking at the lad. He looks young, could be seventeen, maybe eighteen… at least in looks that is.

Gerry looks back at him smiling and nods. “Yeah, that’s me.”

Looking back at Adam he sees the fear in his eyes, fear that wasn’t there before. He’s slowly shaking his head, as if trying to warn him of something…or someone.

“Quit fighting it. You idiot, I don’t know how you’re doing it but it’s really pissing me off.” Gerry says as he suddenly dashes towards him. The movement is so fast his eyes barely register it. Before he can even react, Gerry is right behind Adam, with his hands on Adam’s head. “Guess you’ve served your purpose.” Is all he says and then the snap is all Aaron registers before Adam’s body hits the ground.

He’s gasping for air as he looks at the lifeless body of his best mate on the ground, he’s too scared to move, too scared to do anything. That’s when he ears the shout. “AARON!”

But it’s too late, he was too late. Jacob stood in front of him, his own chest pressed to Jacob’s back, there was something there connecting them, something causing pain. He felt himself choking and let out a cough, his eyes widened when he saw all the blood that spat out with the cough. It’s then that he noticed the piercing pain in his back, when he realized what had happened. They had been impaled. Gerry…was a traitor.

“We took out your little friends arsehole.” Jacob coughed, blood spilling out of his mouth just like Aaron’s. “And if you think you’re getting out of here alive, you got another thing coming.”

“What, are you going to kill me little pup, you can barely speak. You’ll be dead here in a minute and I’m going to walk away with my little prize here. Oh…Lachlan is going to give me top money for…” Gerry tries to gloat when he feels the claw go right through his chest.

“You were saying?” Jacob coughs as he pulls his clawed hand out of Gerry’s chest taking his heart along with him. Gerry’s body drops to the floor quickly desiccating before burning into ash. Unable to turn, he talks over his shoulder. “Aaron? Aaron, can you hear me?” He asks through coughs.

“Yeah.” Aaron weakly answers.

“This is going to hurt, but I need you to stay still okay?”

“Yeah.”

Jacob fights through the pain and holds on to the handle of the sword Gerry had impaled through them before pulling it out. “Fuuuuuuuuuuuck!” He yells as they both collapse to the grounds.

“I’m…I’m sorry, mate.” Jacob says as his eyes begin to feel heavy. “I was supposed to protect you.”

“Don’t be daft, mate…this isn’t…this isn’t your fault.” He replies as he feels everything going black.

 _Robert…I’m so sorry Robert. Please wait for me_. He thinks to himself, hoping that somehow Robert will hear him.

_I’ll find my way back to you._

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, cliffhanger!!!  
> It just had to end that way. The worst part though is that the next update won't be for a while. I'm going to jump back to the other fic and finish it before I get back to this one.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robert and company arrive back at Tracy's camp to find it under attack. In between all of the chaos, Alicia tries to save Aaron and Jacob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick disclaimer...I was not happy with the original ending to this chapter. I have updated the ending to this chapter.
> 
> This took me a while long, but then again I had decided to put it on hold and go back to my other fic to finish it. Guess it didn't take. 
> 
> As always please leave comments. The greatest compliments are comments, makes it worth writing this muck. Fair warning...you may need an ice bath after the smut.

 

**CHAPTER 5**

 

* * *

 

 

A small breeze in the air sends waves of green across the open field. The field that's become theirs, the field they go to get away from everything else. It's the only place he'd ever want to be. The grass dancing at the slightest gusts of wind sends tickles up his arms as Aaron lies on his back, his hands tucked under his head for support, with Robert by his side as they stare off into the open sky. Serenity. Happiness. This is all anyone could possibly want. Aaron turns his head over to find Robert looking back at him, looking at him as if nothing else existed, as if nothing else mattered. The feeling it invokes in him is overwhelming, it almost makes the strange feeling in his chest go away.  
  
"I love you." Robert said in the voice no one else gets to hear. The same voice reserved for only Aaron, even after all their lifetimes. Only for him.  
  
Aaron smiles, a smile that would light the darkest of nights and rolls over on top of Robert. Leaning in, he gives him a soft kiss before pulling back and looking into his eyes. A green so beautiful it puts the fields to shame. "I love you more."  
  
"No chance." Robert says before everything slowly goes black.  
  
"Aaron. Aaron. Hang on. Please hang on." Aaron hears in a muffled voice, a voice he recognizes. It's so far away and he can't tell where it’s coming from. "Please. Just hang on."  
  
He knew it. He could feel it in his very core. Something had gone wrong, something had gone terribly wrong. The moment they materialized back at the Ravenwolf camp he realized just how wrong. Robert had jumped them all right back near where Aaron and Jacob laid in a pool of their own blood. They had jumped back into pure chaos. Gunshots could be heard nearby, along with screaming, there was no denying it the camp was under attack.   
  
"AARON!" Robert shouted for him the moment he spotted them on the ground, quickly sprinting towards him. Nothing could be done for either of them, that much was clear. Not with the amount of blood pooled around them. This only meant one thing, the one thing he was afraid of, the one thing he wanted to avoid since Aaron had asked him about turning him. Aaron would come back as a Vampire, no longer an Immortal Soul. He would no longer be reborn should he die. Robert's heart broke for having lost that, for having lost the countless lives he could have had with Aaron, but it broke even further for the other loss just besides them. For the loss that Tracy, David, and even Leyla were now also suffering.  
  
"JACOB!" Tracy and David joined the second they noticed where Robert had run to. "Oh my god, no, no, no, no...Jakey...babe..." Tracy cried as she cradled Jacob's body to her chest. David wrapped his arms around her as tears fell down his face.   
  
"Jacob." Leyla sobbed under her breath, joining them. Years of unshed tears finally breaking, finally released over the boy she'd lost, over the son she'd given up long ago. "No, Jacob, please!"  
  
"I'm sorry for your loss, I really am." Harriet said, alert to what was coming. "But we have company nearby." She cautioned.  
  
Everyone lifted their head and listened to what all of their heightened senses could easily pick up. Several assailants flanking them from all sides. Not just several, but a small army. This wasn't a simple attack, this was a very well planned out assault.   
  
David began heavily coughing as black began running through his veins beneath his skin. "There's...there's...silver dust in the air." We won't be able to turn. He struggled to get out between coughs as Harriet and Tracy began to show the same symptoms. "They...they know what they're doing." He said.  
  
Keeping his cool, Robert lowered his head and focused, his eyes closed as he listened to every step, every single one. "Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty..." He whispered, his lips continued moving as he kept count. "There's close to sixty, maybe more...there's too many to keep track of." He said looking to the group. "Alicia. Draw a barrier, keep them safe." He told her before looking down and placing a soft kiss to Aaron's forehead gently putting him down. He then turned to Leyla holding on to her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze in condolences and just as quickly turning and walking away from the group. Leyla followed just as Alicia began weaving her fingers into seals that sent a sizzling sound into the air, an invisible circle forming around them as an unseen force created a barrier to protect the group.  
  
Tracy clung to Jacob as she felt his last heartbeat, she squeezed him tight to her chest as she let out a shrieking cry. She may not have given birth to him, but he was her boy, he was her son through and through. She had no idea who had attacked her camp and she didn't care, all she knew is that they would soon learn why she was an alpha. She gently put Jacob's body down and stood, tears of black ran down her eyes as the same substance dripped from her nose, her body rejecting the silver poison. A bright shine of yellow enveloped her eyes and in the seconds it took her to turn around she had fully transformed into her Lycan form. This was the power of a true alpha, a power that should be feared.   
  
As if having read each other's minds Robert, Leyla, and Tracy all ran in separate directions. Unlike the defenseless Lycans running for their lives, they were not weak, they were not defenseless, and they were out for blood.  
  
With the barrier up acting as their protection Alicia knelt down taking Aaron's hand in hers and closed her eyes. She was concentrating hard searching for a sign of life, searching for a spark she could possibly reignite to bring Aaron back. The search was futile however, the spark was gone, his Immortal Soul passing to wherever it is they go before they are reborn. She let out a quiet sob feeling the heartbreak she knew Robert would soon feel at the loss. A single tear ran down her cheek as she felt it, as she found something she had not been searching for.   
  
"YES!" She shot up, her dress now covered in blood.  
  
"What?" David asked as he gasped for air, his body fighting the silver poisoning his body.  
  
Alicia quickly turned to look at him and realized David and Harriet were also in need of help, though the barrier was now protecting them from the silver dust in the air just outside it, they had already been poisoned by it. Closing her eyes, she whispered something as her hands weaved into formations before they settled together, her thumbs touching at the tips as the rest of her fingers all crossed pointing out. She blew through the opening between her palms and directly into David and Harriet's faces, sending them to their knees coughing as their bodies expelled the silver poisoning their bodies.  
  
"Fuck, that hurt." David groaned, Harriet nodded in agreement.  
  
"Oh quit being a baby, David." Alicia mouthed off. "I can save him!" She immediately followed.  
  
"What...what do you mean?"  
  
"Jacob! I can save him!"  
  
"How? He's already gone...I felt it."  
  
"Yeah and so is Aaron, but Aaron's had Robert's blood, he'll turn soon."  
  
"What...what does that have to do with Jakey? Why does that matter."  
  
"I can link him to Aaron so that when he turns, when he comes back...think of it like hitchhiking, the link will create a window so that when Aaron comes back, Jacob will tag along."  
  
A flood of relief washes through David's face as a weak smile fights at his lips. It all sounds great, sounds too good to be true. Alicia doesn't wait long to bring him back down.  
  
"Thing is...this is serious. This is blood magic we're talking about. It requires a lot of blood, from both parties involved, luckily we have that." She says gesturing to the pool of blood surrounding Aaron and Jacob's bodies. "But it will form a connection between them. It could be permanent and there's no telling how it will affect him, and once it's done there's no going back."  
  
"Do it."  
  
"Are you sure, David?"  
  
"Will it work, will it save him?" He asked, and Alicia nodded in response with certainty in her eyes.  
  
"Then do it." He insisted.  
  
Unsure of how much time she had to work with, Alicia quickly knelt down and began her preparing. She placed her palms over the center of the pool of blood and began chanting, the blood slowly swirling, mixing so there was no separation between Aaron's and Jacob's. As she stopped, she dipped two fingers into the blood, then using it she began drawing symbols on Jacob’s forehead before switching over to Aaron and doing the same. Her lips had been quickly moving chanting something undecipherable to the group until she came to a sudden stop, drawing the same symbol on her chest. "I have to act as a conduit in order for this to work." She told them.   
  
"And?" Ross questioned.  
  
"That means the barrier may fall. I'm going to need you three to protect us. If anything happens, if I'm stopped or killed in the middle of the..."  
  
"About flipping time. I'm tired of just standing back...I mean, no worries babe, I'll handle things. You just work your little hocus pocus and leave the hero work to me." Ross told her winking an eye.  
  
Alicia rolls her eyes at him before slowly closing them and returning to her ritual, her hands quickly weaving seals as her lips continue moving, only this time there's no sound coming from them. Instead there are whispers coming from all around them and they're gradually getting louder, louder until they become blood curdling screams, and then they're gone. A smell of brimstone fills the airs as a pop of static signals the collapse of the barrier.  
  
"Alright mates. This is it." Ross says looking at David and Harriet.  
  
Red, red is all he sees, and anger is all he feels. He knows exactly who's behind this and what they were after, or who they were after. It was clear that things didn't go according to plan and he was about to make things so much worse for them. Robert spotted the first group of well-armed soldiers nearing him, immediately recognizing the gear as long outlawed silver weapons, they were here for more than Aaron. They were here for Lycans. They were taking neither.   
  
"FREEZE!" He heard the lead of the squad shout at him and just as the man had finished saying the word his body was crumbling to the floor before turning to ash. Robert had jumped right to him, placing his hand through the man's armored chest taking his heart along with it.  
  
"Shit!" The part of the squad shouted, caught off guard before they all turned and opened fire at Robert. Just as quickly as he had done before, he jumped behind another member of the squad and kicked his knee in from behind, holding onto his head. As the man dropped to the ground Robert pulled his head and pressed his own foot against the man's back pushing him forward, decapitating him. The soldier's body dropped turning to ash as Robert dashed for another to his left who was aiming his shotgun at him. No sooner had the soldier pumped his shotgun had it been flipped on him. Robert was far too fast, faster than any other Vampire he'd ever fought before. It was the last thing that ran through his mind before a massive whole was blown through his chest. As he burst into a cloud of ash it gave Robert enough cover to drop his coat before reaching for his back and detaching the twin blades holstered to his back. He took a deep breath as he focused, listening to the remaining footsteps spreading out around him, they were trying flank him from all sides.   
  
Like a humming bird he swept from one point to another at an incredible speed, a movement that he repeated various times before coming to a complete stop. He crouched down with his arm extended just as his blades now also extended, the retractable swords covered in blood only meant one thing. Death had fallen on his enemies. One by one 4 more bodies with missing limbs and heads hit the ground in plumes of ash, before he jumps and materializes mid-air, dropping down on another soldier. As his feet connect with the soldier’s chest he stumbles to his back with Robert on top of him, the blades come down crossing at his neck. “Why are there so many of you? You’re not just here for one person, are you?” He asks the soldier as he rips the ski mask off his head.  
  
The soldier clearly afraid. He’s just seen Robert wipe out so many others of his squad without even breaking a sweat. He shakes his head confirming Robert’s suspicions.  
  
“The silver dust?”  
  
“It, it, it, it was used to incapacitate them.”  
  
“You wanted them alive, didn’t you?”  
  
“Yeah…they, they…” He’s trying to say through stutters. “They want the Lycans alive. They want the venom…It’s all I know. I swear.”  
  
“I believe you.” Is all Robert says before closing the gap between his swords.  
  
"Is that the best you can do, sweetheart?" Leyla teased the soldier who's heart she held in her hand, her fist still within his chest.   
  
"I'll fucking kill you."  
  
Pouting as she looked into his eyes, she mocked him shaking her head. "I'm sorry, babe, but you do realize I have my fist in your chest, right?" She said before swiftly pulling it out, taking his heart along with it.   
  
As his body dropped to the ground desiccating before bursting into ash, she heard the approaching squad and reached for her belt, detaching it. Unwrapping it from her waist she clicked a hidden switch on the buckle letting the razor chain links extend, her belt had been a deadly weapon in disguise. A weapon that had been of her own design, similar to a nine-section chain whip, only deadlier. It was her weapon of choice. Hearing the guns being aimed in her direction she used the gift she often borrowed from Robert. Her own gift, the ability to temporarily borrow other's gifts, allowed her to jump just as Robert did. She jumped to the nearest soldier, throwing her knee high up as she materialized in front of him, the impact of her knee connecting to his chin sent him flying into the air, but not before she wrapped her whip around his neck. As she landed back to the ground, she pulled back down on her whip decapitating him and quickly jumped again. Materializing behind another soldier she wrapped her whip around his neck before jumping again, repeating the same to another soldier before doing it yet again, and again. A total of four soldiers clawed at their necks shredding their hands to bits as they tried and failed to remove the deadly weapon around their necks. With one quick pull she took all of their heads, their bodies tumbling to the ground turning to ash.  
  
At the sound of a shot, she quickly jumped to the shooter wrapping her whip around the barrel of the machine gun and yanking it out of his hands. He quickly reached for his back, pulling a knife out of a holster and holding it in front of him in defense. “Really? A knife?” Leyla cocked her head asking. She released the whip from her hold, only holding on to the handle as she begins spinning it in hand. The spin creating a sharp whirling sound as it picked up speed, she crosses it in front of her as the soldier begins to slowly circle her, before she brings it near her head using her neck to bring it in closer and faster using the momentum to launch it at the man. The movements are too fast and catch him off guard, the blade at the end of the whip pierce right through his Kevlar, right through his chest and out his back. With a second click to the handle, spikes unlatch from the knife at the end of the whip and she quickly yanks it back. The soldier clutches his hands to his chest before realizing the whip wasn’t the only thing pulled out of his chest, it’s not until he feels his body start to stiffen and desiccate that he sees his heart still attached to the blade on the whip. It’s the last thing he sees before he turns to ash.  
  
There’s nothing clean or precise about what she’s doing. The loss of her son Jacob is the only thing that matters. Rage is all that’s driving her. Rage is what’s numbing her to the pain. She’s fast, but she’s still large and the barrage of silver bullets flying at her are difficult to fully escape. Unfortunately for the soldiers trying to flank her, she’s an alpha, and she won’t go down as easy as they expect. The silver bullets only bouncing of her thick steel-like skin as she dashes fast between them, her massive claws sending limbs flying in all directions.  
  
“Flank it!” A squad leader shouts at his men, a group of sixteen all carrying a mixture of machine guns and shot guns all loaded with silver rounds. A few more converge on them with heavy spear guns and prepare as Tracy cuts down through half the squad. With the machine guns proving useless they switch to shotguns at close range which proves more effective as the blasts manage to pierce her skin and slow her down giving the others the time they need to load up and fire the spear guns. The first spear pierces her right arm, followed by another piercing her left leg. They continue to fire until they have all four of her limbs held in place, the remainder of the squad all spread out holding her down by the ropes attached to the silver spears.  
  
“Oh…they’re going to love this one. This will get us some serious cash, boys. We bagged ourselves an alpha. Just look at the size of her.” The squad captain took his time bragging. Too sure of himself to even notice Tracy’s wounds sizzle as they push out the silver rounds that pierced her skin. With every last bit of silver pushed out she unleashes a blood curdling roar that could be heard for miles around. It’s loud enough that it bursts the ear drums of the entire squad holding her and throws the captain off his feet. She then swings her arms in one quick motion sending the soldiers all flying and follows with her legs. The captain holding on to his ears hasn’t even realized that she now stands above him, he has no time to react, no time to avoid the massive jaws that crush his skull like it was made of paper. She quickly shakes her own head, separating his from his body before turning and running for the others, claws and fangs making quick work of the squad, tearing through them like tissue paper. They had messed with the wrong camp, they had messed with the wrong alpha.  
  
"Where the hell is everyone? Thought we were surrounded?" Ross asked over his shoulder towards David. They had been standing guard over Alicia as she performed her ritual to link Jacob to Aaron, and they had only had two soldiers to dispose of since Robert, Leyla, and Tracy ran off over fifteen minutes before. That's when they heard the roar. "Fuck me. What is that?"  
  
"That's why we're not surrounded." David replied. "Those three have pretty much wiped them out. From what I can pick up, there’s just a few left, maybe four of them." He says, his eyes closed as he concentrates, listening to his surroundings. His hearing powerful enough to hear for miles. "They're heading towards Robert."  
  
Without warning, the bonfire near Alicia, Aaron, and Jacob erupts, the flames jumping nearly twice in height. "Shit!" Ross shouts. "We have to move them." He's running for them when David pulls him back.  
  
"Don't, just wait. If we disturb her before she's done, they'll all die." He warns him.  
  
"But what if..." He's trying to ask when the bonfire suddenly snuffs out and Alicia faints. "Shit." He pulls away from David and runs to Alicia.  
  
"What's happened?" Tracy and Leyla ask in unison as they arrive back, having disposed of all the soldiers nearby.  
  
"We're not sure." David answered. "She said she could save Jacob, said she needed to link him to Aaron."  
  
"Shit!" Leyla let out as she made her way to Ross.  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's blood magic. Some nasty stuff that is." She tells Tracy before kneeling down and turning to Ross. "Did she finish the ritual?"  
  
"I...I don't know." He shrugs. "We were standing guard when the fire blew up, then she fainted."  
  
Leyla is about to answer when they all begin to hear whispers around them, just like Ross, David, and Harriet heard before. This time however the whispers are short lived and die out quickly just before the bonfire sparks back to life. Loud gasps escape Aaron and Jacob as their backs arch off the ground, their eyes open wide as the blue in them change to a golden yellow and the white turns to black.  
  
"Robert." Is the only thing that escapes their mouths before they both drop back down.  
  
"You boys are making this too easy." Robert teases. He's wiped out so many of the soldiers he's lost count, everything is happening too fast and all he cares about is getting back to Aaron. He's facing off with the last soldier of a squad he just took down, but he can see a second one nearby just watching. It catches him off guard when it looks as if the soldier waves at him. He shakes it off and turns his attention back to the one in front of him, he's about to attack when he feels it. When he feels him. He feels Aaron and their connection. It's stronger than he's felt before, it's all he feels before everything goes black and he stumbles to the ground.  
  
"Oh, what’s this? Who's making things too easy now?" The soldier asks as he places his shotgun straight to Robert's chest. "Guess I get the honors of taking down The Blond Demon." He says pumping the shot shotgun before placing his finger to the trigger.  
  
"Sorry, mate. I'm afraid I can't let you do that." The soldier hears before he feels the sharp pain in his back and chest. He's shaking as he looks down to see a fist holding his heart protruding from his chest, the last thing he sees is the fist swiftly pulled back. His body drops before turning to ash and the other man kneels down, placing his hand to Robert's face.  
  
"Mate, what have you gotten into this time?" He asks moments before Robert's back arches off the ground. His eyes widen, and the green of his eyes turn a golden yellow as the whites turn black. "Oh shit! This can't be good."  
  
Aaron quickly reached for his chest just as the wound began to quickly heal. "Oh, fuck." He said as he sat up looking around. "Robert?! Where's Robert?" He asked, clearly noticing his absence.  
  
"He'll be back any minute now, babe. Just relax."  
  
"FUCK!" Jacob shouted as he sat up, quickly reaching for his chest, just as Aaron had. His wound also quickly healing.  
  
"Jakey!" Tracy sobbed as she knelt down wrapping her arms around Jacob, with David following. Leyla watched with a look of sadness in her eyes. Part of her wanting to do the same.  
  
"Robert?! Where's Robert?" Jacob asked, with the same desperation as Aaron.  
  
Tracy scrunches her face in confusion, unsure as to why Jacob is so concerned for Robert. "It's alright Jakey, he'll be fine."  
  
"You don't understand he needs our help." Aaron and Jacob both say in unison. "He's in danger." They say looking over to Leyla. "You need to take us to him."  
  
"I can't... it's worn off. I can only hold on to his gift for short periods of time. Trace, you think you can get to him?"  
  
Tracy nods as she stands ready to take her Lycan form. "Can you tell how far..." She's trying to ask when Robert materializes, dropping to his knees with a second man wearing the same gear as the soldiers directly behind him.  
  
Leyla is quick to dash at him, but the man use her own momentum against her, taking her hand, he flips her around and sends her tumbling down. The exchange giving Aaron and Jacob the opening they need, they both launch themselves off the floor and tackle him down. Try as he might the soldier is unable to budge. Both Aaron and Jacob's eyes glow in yellow, their fists ready to strike when the shout stops them.  
  
"Wait!" Robert yells. "He's with me."

____

With most of her pack on duty cleaning up the wreckage and looking after the wounded pack members, Tracy retreats to her cabin along with the group to go over the events of the night. She had begun to piece some things together, but still found herself too in the dark for her liking.

“What the fuck have you all dragged my pack into?” She asks.

“We’re not really sure just what all is going on.” Leyla tries to answer.

“Actually.” Robert cuts in. “I think I kind of do.”

“You what?” Leyla asks.

“Think about it. We know the Whites have been making plays for ages now, and we know they’ve stepped it up the past few years. They’ve gone so far as to plant traitors in my own Coven and not just that, they were trying to destabilize us. They bought members and had them peddling tainted blood, they were quietly trying to kill us from within. They knew we were on to them and they had to get us off their backs, and that tainted blood, I know what it was tainted with.” He says turning to face Tracy, David, Jacob, and Harriet. “They’ve been taking Moon Crest Lycans for a while and now they’ve come for Ravenwolf. They’re not killing you lot, they’re harvesting.”

“Harvesting what?” David asks.

“Our venom…” Tracy responds. “They’re harvesting Lycan venom.”

“That blade they got me, when they tried killing Aaron. It was laced with Lycan venom. They’re taking Lycans to arm themselves against us, against their own kind.”

“We have to call in the Covens, this can’t stand. This is what we need to take them down.” Leyla adds.

“I’m afraid that won’t help. We’re far past that now.” Robert says waving over the soldier that had saved his life. “Go on, tell them.”

The man steps up pulling off the ski mask over his head. His black curls falling back down over his forehead nearly covering his piercing blue eyes.

“Mike?” Leyla questions.

“Leyla…been a while.” He responds promptly clearing his throat and continuing on Robert’s request to inform the group of what he knows. “The Coven leaders won’t do shite about it. Lawrence has them in his pocket now. Connor confirmed Coldstone and I can confirm Red Fang. He also has a few of the small surrounding Covens.”

“Connor?” Leyla questioned.

“Come on, you think Lawrence is the only one with spies?” Robert replied.

“Lawrence’s little lap dog Joe stopped by our Coven house earlier today, he was looking for a small army for a big operation. When I couldn’t get a hold of ye, I snuck myself into the operation. As soon as I heard squad leaders calling out Robert’s name I took out coms and started releasing the Lycans that had been caught and packed. I was on my way further into camp when I spotted Robert.”

“So, you all go to war and you have to drag us into it?” Tracy sneers towards Robert and both Aaron and Jacob nearly growl in response. Tracy flinches back looking at Jacob. “Jakey? What’s the matter with you?”

“It’s his connection to Aaron.” Alicia adds as she wakes.

“What do mean?”

“They’re linked. Whatever Aaron feels, Jacob will feel.” Alicia informs them

“How long will that last?” David asks.

“I’m not sure, David. I told you there could be consequences. It could be permanent, it could go away, only time will tell…but I think I may have found another piece to this puzzle.”

“What is it?”

“Aaron.” She starts. “I think I know why they want him.”

___

After the news Alicia brought them, everyone decided it was best to call it a night. The day had been long and so much had happened. They all needed to rest before figuring out their next move. Knowing their location had been made Tracy had her pack moved to a hidden location where Harriet will join them along with her pack until everything is sorted.

With Tracy’s pack having all been safely sent away, Mike offered his safe house to the group for them to recuperate. A hidden place no one else knew about would have to work as their base of operations for the time being. Robert passes his gift along to Leyla and together they _jump_ the entire group there. They arrive in a large study, bookshelves line every wall, all filled with books. Mike walks over to a computer sitting at a large desk near the only window in the room and begins typing away, letting his security system know they were there. He then turns to the group and points them to where the rooms are all located. “There’s enough rooms fer everyone. Make yourselves at home.”

As everyone retires to rooms for the night, Robert wraps his arms around Mike in a hug, he thanks him for the help, and turns to see Aaron staring. “You okay?” He asks.

“You wanna tell me about him?” Aaron asks.

“What do you mean?” Robert replies.

“You know what I mean.”

“This seems to be kind of personal, maybe I should leave you two be.” Mike says as he tries to step from his location.

“You stay right where you are.” Aaron quickly says through gritted teeth. His eyes glowing yellow, Robert’s reflect the same.

“We’ve…we’ve slept together.” Robert tells him.

“That all?”

“It was…it was more than that.”

Aaron grunts in response, clearly not happy with the answer.

“Don’t be like that. You, you had been gone so long. I thought I’d never seen you again and I met him. We got on and he…. he reminded me of you. He tells him. Aaron scoffs, as does Mike.

In that moment nothing else matters. All Aaron can see is red. The thought of anyone else having had Robert...his Robert makes him want to lash out or at least that's what he thinks. His emotions are a bit all over, his senses all so heightened, making it difficult for him to understand exactly what it is he's feeling. Jealousy, arousal, anger, everything seems to be blending in. That's when he sees it. A flicker in his head of lips not his own all over Robert. Lips belonging to this Irish bloke. He pictures it, pictures him dominating Robert and his body takes over. He's shoving Mike up against the wall hard and fast, try as he might, Mike can't get out of it. Aaron's hold is too strong. That's when the smug grins spreads across Aaron's face. "Since you've had him." He says nodding his head back towards Robert who's watching intently. "Maybe I should have you."  
  
The words cut right through him, he can feel them sending shivers down his spine. Though they would be words Robert would never want to hear otherwise, he can feel what Aaron is feeling. He can feel every last emotion. He can feel the jealousy, the arousal, the rage all pooling together, driving him. He sees Mike look past Aaron directly at him with a questioning look on his face. He seems a mixture of confusion and curiosity, almost as if asking for approval. A grin spreads across Robert's face and mirrors on Mike's shortly after.  
  
"Maybe ye should." Mike lets out seductively, before licking his bottom lip, prompting Aaron to turn and look at Robert almost as if asking for permission. Permission Robert clearly grants with the nod of his head, his eyes half shut dripping with seduction.  
  
Aaron turns and flips Mike over, still holding him against the wall. Sharp gasps escape Mike's lips as his chest presses against the wall, his breath becoming visible as condensation against the cold wall he's against under Aaron's hold. Aaron's lips take Mike's neck as his fingers lace through his hair, fisting into it he pulls his head back and licks up his neck as he turns both their heads to look back at Robert who's leaning against a wall touching himself as he watches. As Robert's eyes lock onto Aaron's, everything they're feeling intensifies, their connection only getting stronger by the minute, as if reading his thoughts Aaron takes a nip at Mike's neck as he tears his shirt off and runs his hands down his toned back. His fingernails nearly digging in leave marks on his skin as they slowly drag, pulling soft groans from Mike's lips.  
  
Robert watches as Aaron slowly traces his tongue down the length of Mike's back. He watches as Aaron does it while keeping his eyes locked onto his own and he can't hold back any longer. He's is off the wall and behind Aaron in the blink of an eye with his chest pressed to Aaron's back. He licks at his neck all the while reaching around him grabbing a hold of the erection straining in his jeans, a gravely moan escapes Aaron's mouth as he feels Robert squeezing him. With the sensation only spurring him further, Aaron pulls Mike away from the wall all the while pushing his chest back towards it, making him arch his back as his arse sticks out. With a single yank he has Mike's trousers around his ankles as Robert's hand reaches under Aaron's jeans and begins stroking his cock all the while taking gentle bites at his neck.  
  
"Fuck." Aaron moans as he spreads Mike's cheeks, giving him a full view of his tight pink hole.  
  
"Go on." Robert whispers into Aaron's ear opening himself up to him, making sure he can feel exactly how turned on he is, how turned on Aaron is making him. He can feel the moment it hits him, feels the goosebumps spread across Aaron's skin, and he feels it when Aaron returns the favor.  
  
"Fuck." He says under his breath and he's done holding back. He tears the shirt right off Aaron's body before pulling his own over his head and throwing it to the floor. He watches as Aaron's tongue begins teasing Mike's hole and he can feel himself getting harder. Aaron's tongue is slowly running circles around the sensitive skin, making Mike squirm under his hands and fuck if it doesn't make Robert squirm just as much just watching his man do that to someone else. He's unbuckling his belt as Aaron stands and turns to him doing the same, they both quickly dispose of their trousers and take to each other's lips. The heat between them is intense, all their raw emotions flowing between them only heightened with Mike's presence as he joins them. Placing a hand on both Robert's and Aaron's hips facing him as he leans in and joins the kiss. His tongue parting both their lips brings their tongues all clashing and swirling together as their hands begin to roam. Aaron's fingers playing with Mike's hole, Robert's hand stroking Aaron's cock, and Mike gripping onto Robert's arse.  
  
Robert pulls away from the kiss and turns to Aaron. "I want to see you fuck him." He says nodding towards Mike who simply grins and pulls away as he walks back over to the wall, placing his hands against the wall he leans in and slightly spreads his legs as he arches his back. He then slowly turns to look over his shoulder and directly at Aaron.  
  
"Ye waiting fer an invitation, or summat?" He says with a smirk.  
  
"Go on." Robert tells Aaron, looking into his ocean blue eyes he takes his hand and leads him over to Mike. Without breaking the eye contact he brings his hand to his own mouth and spits into his palm before lowering it and rubbing it against Mike's hole.  
  
Aaron follows suit and spits into his own palm before stroking himself, slicking his cock up, as Robert places kisses to his neck and shoulder. Every kiss only making his body thrum with energy as it all comes to a boil and he sinks himself fully into Mike.  
  
"Fuuuuuuuuuck." Mike moans as he throws his head back, his black curls bouncing about as Aaron thrusts into him. He's not holding back, every thrust going faster, deeper, harder. It's just the way Mike likes it, it's what Robert tells him, or at least it’s what he's feeling from Robert.  
  
"Oh fuck, oh fuck, fuuuuuuuck." The string of obscenities spills from Mike's mouth as Aaron continues to thrust into him. The rhythmic motion of the thrusts exacerbated by Aaron's balls slapping against his taint only serve to pull filthy noises from him. Noises that are joined by Aaron's own moaning as he feels Robert's fingers teasing his hole. He can feel they're already slick, can feel exactly what it is that Robert wants to do.  
  
"Fuck me, Robert...please." Aaron begs.  
  
It's only seconds before he feels Robert's cock pushing at his hole, slowly gliding in. Fuck, he loves to feel every inch of it. He licks his lips as he feels Robert's hands take his hips and pull him flush to himself. Aaron reaches his arm back placing his hand on the back of Robert's head and pulls him into a kiss. It's wet and all tongue, and they only pull back to catch their breath before returning to it as Aaron continues his thrusts into Mike. The thrusts serving both the purpose of him fucking Mike just as much as Robert fucking him, he's doing all the work, but it’s exactly what he wants in the moment. He wants full control. He is in full control. He's dominating both of them, and it's only turning him on even more, so much that he feels himself getting close. He can feel the heat building in him, can feel everything on a stronger level than before. "Fuck." He nearly whimpers as he slows down his pace.  
  
"I want both of ye fellas in me." Mike says as he pulls off Aaron's cock and looks them both up and down licking his lips.  
  
Aaron turns his head back to look at Robert waiting for a response, though the twitch he felt inside him from Robert's cock the moment Mike mentioned what he wanted told him exactly what Robert would say. He feels the gentle push on his lower back and pulls off Robert's cock taking a step towards Mike. He places his hands on his hips and lifts him in a quick swoop, Mike immediately wraps his legs around his waist and arms around his neck for support.  
  
Without hesitation, Aaron lines himself up with Mike's hole and lowers him onto his cock. "Fuck." Mike breaths out as he feels every inch of Aaron filling him once again. He's always had it bad for Robert ever since they met long ago, ever since he first had him. Aaron though, Aaron was different, Aaron was a whole new experience, and having them both at the same time was something he never would have expected. Part of him was unsure if he should even go along. There was a danger to it all. Aaron was clearly possessive at least in the state he was currently in. Recently turned, everything so heightened beyond what he normally would experience. Then there was the connection between them, Aaron and Robert, it was unlike anything he had witnessed before. It was powerful, so powerful he could even feel it. Almost like a heat emanating from them and not just from them but connecting them. He wasn't sure if it he wanted to mess with it, but Robert's nod, his approval was all he needed. No way could he turn them down. He wanted this just as bad, wanted it so much more.  
  
As Robert rounds them, Mike pulls himself closer into Aaron, with their toned chests flushed against each other's, he places his chin on Aaron's shoulder breathing him. The scent of him relaxes him further, making it easier for himself to prepare for Robert. Just as Aaron had done seconds before Robert lines himself up with Mike's hole and begins to press in. The head of his leaking cock slowly penetrating the tightness of Mike's already occupied hole. "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck." Mike breathes out before letting out filthy moans as he feels Robert slowly entering him, slowly filling him up. In that moment he remembers the last time he had Robert in him. Remembers it like yesterday. He could never get enough, and as much as he loved it back then this was a whole different game.  
  
"Fuck." Both Aaron and Robert let out in unison, the hot tightness enveloping their cocks, drawing them near their climax. Neither of them ever having experienced something like this, not even Robert in all his two hundred plus years. Their connection only intensifying things. They look into each other's eyes and begin thrusting into Mike as they hold him in place, Aaron's hands around his waist, Robert's on his arse, fingernails all digging into his skin. The noises coming from Mike only make them pick up pace and thrust faster into him in a rhythmic pace. A rhythmic pace timed so perfectly that their cocks are thrusting against each other as they fuck Mike.  
  
"Oh fuck. I'm so close." Mike lets out between breaths, it hurts, but it hurts in the most amazing way. His moans become louder as they evolve into guttural sounds, his own fingernails digging into Aaron's back, he reaches a point of no return and his climax hits him. There's only one thing that will make this better. Much better. "Bite me." He tells them.  
  
"Fuck!" Mike lets out as Robert's fangs pierce the skin on his left shoulder and Aaron's the right side of his neck. And he's gone. He's letting out a string of obscenities as his load shoots all over his and Aaron's chest, untouched.  
  
With the crimson red liquid hitting their tongues on top of what they were already experiencing, both Robert and Aaron reach their own climax. As if on cue they both pull back from Mike's skin and take each other's lips, their tongues swirling and smearing blood on each other's mouths, their groaning is muffled by their kiss as they both unload inside Mike. Their bodies all melting together as their climaxes washes over them.  
  
"Fuck, me." Mike says with a chuckle.  
  
"Think we just did, mate." Aaron returns with a cheeky grin.  
  
"Cheeky." He replies before taking Aaron's lips and reaching back to pull Robert's head to join them. The kiss is messy, messier because of the blood, but something they all clearly enjoy as they all groan into it.  


"That was amazing." Mike replied pulling back. "Think ye boyos can put me down?”

Both Aaron and Robert let out a chuckle as they keep eyes on each other and put Mike down. He’s out of the room before they have a chance to react about what had just happened and all they can do is pull each other into an embrace, even for a moment they want to enjoy just having each other.

____

 

A high-pitched sound ringing in her ears wakes her. The usual haze in her head seems to have cleared up some and as her eyes slowly flutter open she realizes she can see. The blur that usually rules her eyesight isn't there. As she looks around getting her bearings she can't help but blink repeatedly. The light is almost too much, she can't remember the last time she truly saw. The ringing getting increasingly louder brings her out of her thoughts. It gets louder until she feels her ears pop and suddenly everything goes dark. "No, no, no, no." She frantically whispers as she tries to reach for eyes only to realize she can't. Her wrists are restrained, not just her wrists but her ankles as well. Slowly as the haze further lifts from her head she remembers. She remembers her captivity, she remembers her torture, she remembers being drugged and poisoned, worst of all she remembers who did it.

Tears run down her cheeks as she remembers and all she wants to do is cry until the she feels it. The feeling is strange. Unlike anything she had ever experienced before. It almost felt as if someone was comforting her, almost feels like someone is talking to her. _It's okay. It's all going to be okay_. She feels the comfort almost as if she heard the gentle voice delivering the message. A massage that allows her to calm and focus.   
  
A loud click fills the air as emergency lights turn on letting her know her sight was fine, it was only the power that had gone out. She lets go of a breath and like magic her shackles unlatch.  
  
_Hurry._ The feeling tells her as she feels her body thrum with urgency.  
  
"Is...is someone there?" She asks, confused by what's happening. Determined that someone is behind what she's feeling.  
  
_There's no time. You have to move._ The urgency again comes over her. "This way." She finally hears. It's a whisper. It's so low yet she can clearly hear it in her head. It's coming from just outside the door to the room.  
  
She slowly sits up from the bed she was restrained in looking around, desperately hoping this wasn't all in her head. "Hurry." The whisper urges her.  
  
She slowly steps off the bed and tumbles to the floor. Atrophy, she's been under for who know how long. She can't remember the last time she stood. She doesn't even know just how long it’s been. "Get up. They'll come looking soon."  
  
Summoning all the strength she can she picks herself off the floor and heads for the door. She gets to it just in time to hear the locks release and the door slightly open. She doesn't know who's responsible or why they're helping her, but she doesn't care. She swings the door open ready to throw her arms around whoever it is but is met with no one. The hall is empty. The corridors lightly illuminated by the emergency lights are dead still, no one is around, no one can be heard. "This way." She hears down the corridor to her right.  
  
"Who are you?" She calls back to it. "Where are you?"  
  
"Come this way." The whisper instructs.  
  
Desperate to find her helper she follows. It's not until she gets to the end and turns the corner that she smells it. There's an acrid burnt smell in the air. The smell hitting her nose makes her double open in a cough, it's then that she sees the embers floating from the few piles of ashes that lie on the floor.   
  
"Over here." The whisper calls. "You're almost there. Hurry"  
  
As she reaches the end of the corridor she turns a corner to find no one, a lone door stood in front of her. A heavily armored door. A sob escapes her lips feeling defeated. The hope she had just moments ago dying at the sight. She can't get past that. There's no way.  
  
The loud creaking of the door unlatching and slowly opening snaps her back. The fresh air flowing in from outside against her face renews her hope, a shaky smile spreads across her face as she takes a step through the armored door. _You're free._ The whispers tell her. _You have to find him. You have to tell him. Tell Robert, tell him what you've seen. Now hurry before they come. Go!_  
  
_Rebecca, go!_

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh. Bex is coming!  
> What doe she want and how will it affect what is going on?
> 
>  
> 
> If you are on Twitter feel free to follow me @fotografyraptor for non stop robron madness and sneak peeks at upcoming chapters.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone from his past long thought dead has re-emerged, but what does her arrival signal? And when a friend shows up with news on the missing Lycans will they be able to help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know...it's been forever but I was finally able to hop back on this fic and get this Chapter done. It still needs to go through edits, so sorry for all the mistakes I'm sure are littered throughout. I'll update as soon as I can.
> 
> Please leave comments\feedback, always helps to know if you guys are reading and or even like it, if it's worth continuing.

 

**CHAPTER 6**

 

* * *

 

  

A cool breeze blows through the air sending waves across the field of green. There's nothing in the world more calming or beautiful than the field, except for the man lying next to him. The man that puts him at ease with something as simple as the crack of a smile. This place, this man, it's all he needs. He could stay there for all eternity and be happy. He's staring down at him as the man places his hand on his neck, his thumb gently stroking at his dark stubble. "What are you thinking about?" He asked, his beautiful green eyes doing most of the talking.  
  
"Just... I'm happy. You make me happy, Robert."  
  
"And you me." Robert replies as he sits up and places his lips to Aaron's before he pulls back. "But you really need to rest. You've been through a lot. The change you've been through, it's a lot...and we don't even fully know what it means. There's never been one before." He says in that soft voice, that soft voice that Aaron would do anything for. Aaron nods and lies down facing Robert, he closes his eyes and everything goes dark.  
  
His eyes open wide as he feels the thrum in his body. It catches him off guard. The change is so new to him. He feels so thrown off by all the heightened senses, all the heightened feelings, it's as if everything has been dialed to a hundred and he can't seem to get himself in control of anything. The strange part is that he knows he should be calm, he knows that the man lying next to him grounds him, but there's something else that's pulling him away...or perhaps someone.  
  
Aaron quietly slips out of bed and slides into a pair of boxers before exiting the room. The air is still and quiet, everyone seems to have taken to rest, the events leading up to their arrival at Mike's safe house left everyone drained and they all knew they needed rest for what's to come. He's still not sure of where he is or where he's going yet at the same time he knows exactly where he's going. Opening a door near the end of the corridor he finds himself back in the study they arrived in and he knows exactly who is quietly sitting in the sofa near the center of the room.  
  
"Couldn't sleep, could ya?" He asked.  
  
"No." Jacob's soft voice replied. "You?"  
  
"Same. Think you're keeping me awake actually." He chuckles. "I know coming back was weird, I was dead too remember?" He tries to comfort him before Jacob cuts him off.  
  
"It's not that. I know what coming back from the dead feels like. Believe it or not, it wasn't that much different from when I was turned to a Lycan. There is a moment where you die, it's very brief unlike what Vampires go through, but it does happen."  
  
"Then, what is it?"  
  
"I...I feel everything you feel."  
  
"What do mean?"  
  
"I mean, I feel everything you feel." He exaggerates his last words looking back at him widening his eyes and nodding his head towards Aaron's crotch.  
  
Aaron feels like his face is glowing as a flush of red comes over when it hits him, when he realizes what Jacob is talking about.   
  
"Yeah. I felt that...what the three of you did in here."  
  
Every inch of him wants to run, wants to hide in embarrassment, but he can see how lost Jacob feels. He lets out a loud sigh as he walks over and takes a seat next to Jacob.  
  
An awkward silence hangs in the air before Aaron caves and a chuckle escapes his lips. He can't help but laugh at the whole situation. Can't imagine anything worse. "I'm sorry, mate. I really am. If I’d known that I wouldn't have done that."  
  
"Yes you would have."  
  
"I promise I wouldn't do."  
  
"Mate, I can feel everything you feel, no use in lying."  
  
Another chuckle escapes Aaron's lips and he planta both his palms on his face. "I'm sorry. I can't help it. This is all so new to me. I can't control what I'm feeling. Everything's dialed to a hundred."  
  
"Yeah, I remember that. You get used to it after a bit." Jacob replies through a small chuckle of his own before letting out a sigh. "It's just that...I can't make ends of what I'm feeling. I don't know where I end and you begin."  
  
"What do you mean." Aaron asks, confusion clear on his face.  
  
"I don't know if what I'm feeling is me or if it's something you're feeling. I mean, there's moments when it's pretty clear. Like that." He says nodding to the area where Aaron, Robert, and Mike enjoyed one another. "Then there's moments when I'm anxious and I don't know if it's because I'm anxious or if it's because you are."  
  
Trying to take everything in Aaron shakes his head and lets out a sharp breath. "I'm sorry, mate. I really am. I wish I wish I could control how I feel, but it...this...it's all so new to me. I can't promise anything but I'll try and control it best I can."   
  
Jacob quietly nods already feeling a calm coming from Aaron, a calm that makes his own thoughts come to an ease. "You think this is permanent?"  
  
"Fuck...I hope not." He lets out in a bellowing laugh that Jacob joins in on.  
  
"You really love him, don't you?" Jacob asks.  
  
Aaron simply nods knowing exactly who Jacob is asking about. "I don't even know if that's the right word. What I feel for him...I don't even think I can put a word to it."  
  
Jacob smiles. "I know. I can feel it. Think I love him the same...thanks for that. If this wasn't weird enough."  
  
Aaron shakes his head wanting to laugh at the situation but all that hits him is the realization that this could be permanent, that someone else could feel his love for Robert, that someone else might always be there in their shadow.  
  
He turns to see Jacob lower his head with a sad look in his eyes, it's clear he can exactly what Aaron is thinking, exactly what he's thinking. "You know..." He clears his throat. "We're...well, we were, Immortal Souls."  
  
Jacob finally turns to look at him, his brows furrowed in slight confusion.  
  
"It's when two souls..." He tries to explain before Jacob quickly stops him.  
  
"I know what they are, you idiot. It's just...are you serious?"  
  
Aaron smiles and nods in return.  
  
Jacob lets out a sharp breath and runs his hands through his hair with a form of excitement. "There's no letting up with you lot, is there?" He lets out with a chuckle. "I mean, first I get to meet the blond demon and the she-devil, then I died, was brought back to life as...this." He says gesturing to himself. "And now you're telling me that Immortal Souls are real, like really real. Fuck, this is exciting."  
  
Aaron's brows furrow and he can't help but feel a burn of rage within him. After everything they've been through, exciting would be the last word he'd used to describe everything. "Exciting? You think this is all exciting?" He nearly shouts. "You think this is some sort of a game? People have died...my best mate is dead." He says remembering the moment Gerry easily snapped Adam's neck as if it were a twig.  
  
Jacob only flinches in response as regret washes over his face. "I'm sorry, mate. I...I didn't mean it like that." He responds. "It's just, my whole life I've been part of the pack, never known anything outside of it. I've heard all these stories and legends, but I've never experienced anything like them." He tells Aaron as he looks up to make eye contact. "I really didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry it came out that way and I'm really sorry about your mate."  
  
Aaron can feel Jacob's regret, he can feel his sincerity. Part of him is still angry, the wound of losing Adam is still fresh and he doesn't know how to deal with it. He hasn't even had the proper chance to mourn him because it's been one thing after another since the attack at the pub. He needs to mourn, he needs to deal with it, he knows it because with his emotions all over the place he can tell it's only a matter of time before he snaps.  
  
"Take a deep breath." Jacob speaks up. The connection is a two-way street and just as Aaron could feel Jacob's sincerity, Jacob can feel his anger. "If you can try and listen for something, anything, pick out that one sound and focus on it. Just it and nothing else."  
  
Aaron screws his face as he looks back at Jacob in confusion and Jacob cautiously reaches out placing his hand on Aaron's shoulder. "It helps. If you focus on that one thing it'll help ground you."  
  
Aaron nods and closes his eyes and opens himself. He focuses on every sound he hears. The many sounds he hears. His heightened senses picking up so much more than he could have ever imagined. The crackling of the fireplace nearly sounds like the creaking of a forest of trees swaying in a storm. The ticking of clocks nearly sound like gunshots. He hears too many things and the sounds nearly overwhelm him, until he hears it, the rhythmic beating of a heart. Something about the sound is so familiar that he knows exactly what he's listening to, he knows whose heart it is, and he focuses his attention on it alone. With everything else drowned out the rhythmic heartbeat fills him with a wave of serenity, a peace unlike anything else, and a smile spreads across his face.  
  
"It's Robert's, isn't it?" Jacob asked quietly.   
  
Aaron nodded in response keeping his focus on the heartbeat as every thud further put him at ease, an ease that doesn't last long when a low buzz and flashing red light coming from the computer on the desk near the bookshelves grabs their attention. Cautiously they both stand and walk over to the computer to find that the monitor has turned on. On the screen they can see a feed from a security camera, it's aimed down at an angle and it's clear that it is aimed out from a door.  
  
"Must be the entrance." Aaron suggests scrunching his eyebrows.   
  
Jacob nods in agreement. "Must have a motion sensor. We use several like these back at camp." He adds.  
  
"What do you suppose set it off?" Aaron has just asked when a figure approaches the camera. The feed is clear, but the figure is wearing a cloak making it too difficult for them to make out who it could be.  
  
The figure stands there for a moment as if they're trying to get their bearings straight before it turns it's attention straight into the camera. "Robert." The figure says, the voice clearly a woman's. "I must speak with Robert. Please, tell him it's Rebecca."  
  
____  
  
Aaron is mid stride when he slams into Leyla just outside the study, the brute force nearly sends her flying back but he manages to gently grip her arms in time. After they clashed everything seemed to move in slow motion giving him the time to reach out and grab her before she could even react. His reflexes were way faster than he imagined, and by the surprise on her face maybe even faster than Leyla's.  
  
"Oi, what's the rush?" She asked as she planted her feet firmly to the floor and shook the surprise off her face.  
  
"I...I'm so sorry Leyla. It's just..." He tries to tell her, but she can read the expression on his face, she can see he's on alert.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"An alarm went off, there's someone at the entrance." He informs her. "They're looking for Robert."  
  
"But...how? No one knows we're here. Did they say what they wanted? Who they are?"  
  
Aaron nods his head in response. "Rebecca. She said her name is Rebecca. Do you know her?"   
  
Rebecca. The name glares in her head, it's a name she hasn't heard in a long time. A name belonging to someone Robert doesn't talk about. As the thought flows through her mind she hesitates and the look on her face is enough to send a red flag to Aaron and he pushes past her.  
  
In no time he's back in the room he'd left Robert sleeping in and he's sitting by his side gently waking him. "Rob." Aaron calls out softly not wanting to startle him.  
  
"What is it?" He quickly sits up as he feels Aaron's worry, their connection growing stronger by the hour. "What's wrong?"  
  
"There's someone outside the safe house and they're asking for you."  
  
"What? Who?" Robert asks, his voice shakes slightly with worry reflecting what Aaron's feeling.  
  
"Rebecca." Leyla answers as she walks into the room with Jacob on her heel.  
  
The name makes what little color he has drain from him almost instantly. There's no way this is possible. No chance. She's dead. She's been dead for ages. What kind of a sick game is this? He thinks to himself as memories flash through his head. Memories long put away. Memories of someone he thought to have lost long ago.  
  
"Get everyone ready." He tells Leyla as he quickly shoots off the bed and dresses.   
  
"Robert?" Aaron reaches for his arm holding onto it gently. He can feel Robert's worry, he can feel everything he's feeling and he's no longer sure if it's his own worry he's feeling or Robert's. A slight reminder of what Jacob must be going through. "What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
"Has to be a trap." Robert answers. "Rebecca." He says then pauses. "She's dead...she's been dead a long time. I don't know who this is, but there's no chance it's her. No chance."  
  
After everything they've been through the past couple of days, they know better than to take any chances. Aaron and Leyla both nod and jump into action getting ready and alerting the others as Jacob stands guard by Robert completely unaware to what he's doing.  
  
"There's no way anyone coulda known we would be here." Mike declares as he walks into the room on alert. "No one even knows of this place."  
  
Once he's fully dressed Robert retrieves his harness with his weapons and places it over his shoulders before exiting the room. As he steps out he makes a turn down the corridor to the front entrance of the safe house and he takes the time to scope out his environment. They had all taken the time to familiarize themselves with the safehouse shortly after they arrived, a hidden bunker underground, and though that would be enough for some he hasn't been around as long as he has by playing it safe. The walls, floors and ceiling all made out of concrete, if a fight breaks out things could get rough. They wouldn't be able to easily break through a wall and that meant that entrances and exits are very limited. While he can easily jump out, everyone else only has one safe exit.   
  
As he nears the front door to the bunker he hopes that Mike informed every one of the exit and that they are all prepared for a fight. They need to be prepared for an ambush. They need to be prepared for anything.  
  
"Be careful." He hears the raspy voice of his soulmate. He's nearby and though he's out of view his heightened hearing can easily hear him. Just as he can hear his heart, the sound giving him some comfort and helping him focus.  
  
"I will do." He replies as Mike joins him. "What...what are you doing?"  
  
"I'm opening the door."  
  
"I think I can manage on my own."  
  
"D'ya know the security codes? It's not a simple deadbolt ya know?" Mike scoffs as he opens the keypad connected to the door and punches in a combination that releases the door with a loud hiss.  
  
Robert braced himself fully aware that an ambush could be waiting for him on the other side of the door, an ambush he was determined to stop before they had a chance to enter the safehouse. Aaron's inside, safe, it's the way he intended on keeping it no matter what. As Mike pulls the door open Robert spots the figure on the other side standing still, they seem focused as if ready to attack, now more than ever its exactly what he's expecting. What he wasn't expecting was to freeze in place, his heart sinking, as the figure stepped into the light of the entryway. Her face now visible, she lunches herself at him, her arms stretched out. He's frozen. He can't react.  
  
"Robert!" A woman's voice shouts to him trying to grab his attention. It's too late though they're too far and she won't stop him from doing it, from ending everything, from ending his loneliness.  
  
He tightens his grip around the dagger in his hands and pulls out just before pulling it back in. As he squeezes his eyes he waits for it, only it doesn't come. The dagger, it's being held back, something's stopping him from doing it. He opens his eyes and the light glares into them, as he squints all he can see is golden hair flying in the air. It's a woman.   
  
"Robert." Don't do this. She says as she tightens her grip around his hands pulling back.  
  
"What...what are you doing?" He asks.  
  
"Don't do this. If you do, you won’t see him again." She tells him.  
  
Just like that his grip loosens and his arms drop. What she said, it meant something, it meant something to him. "What...what do you mean?"  
  
"Aaron." She answers with a smile. "If you end it now, you won’t see him."  
  
"What? Who...who are you?" He asks as her words wash over him, his heart breaking at the mere mention of his name. His other half. His soulmate. The man he's been waiting for so long. The part of him he now thought was never coming back.  
  
"My name is Rebecca." She smiled at him, taking the chance to kneel down and releasing his hands from her grip. "I'm like you." She started. "I'm a Vampire and like you I also have a gift, granted mine seems to work only when it wants to."  
  
Robert shakes his head trying to snap out of the headspace he was in moments ago. Had she not mentioned his name he wouldn't even be listening to her. He'd been half way across town already finishing what he started. "Aaron? Why did you say that name?"   
  
"That's who you're waiting for, isn't it?" She asks.  
  
With a sad look upon his face Robert nods in response. "I...I think I've lost him for good. It's never been this long. We're always so close together."  
  
She mirrors his own sadness as she finally sits down on the ground taking the dagger from his hands and placing it down beside her. "I have visions, well more like glimpses into things that have yet to pass."  
  
Robert's eyes shoot back up to hers looking at her as if she's crazy. "You can see the future?"  
  
"You say that as if it were anymore crazy than being a vampire with the gift to do...whatever it is you call that thing you do."  
  
Robert can't help but let out a small laugh. "Fair enough." He answers with a faint smile.  
  
"It's how I knew to find you here. I don't know why, but I saw this some time ago, I saw you doing what you were about to do. It's been a dream I've had nearly every night for a while now. Then last week, there was something else, something new. I saw him...I saw Aaron."  
  
Like thunder, a loud crash pulls him back from his memories. As if having been opened for the first time in a while his eye have to readjust, to refocus, and he's looking at Rebecca being pinned against the wall. Aaron holding her by an arm and Jacob by the other.   
  
Their need to protect Robert overrode everything else. Leyla and Tracy couldn't hold them back as they leapt into action and took a hold of Rebecca before her hands even reached him.  
  
"Who are you?" They demanded almost as if a single voice.  
  
"Rebecca." She answered calmly. Despite the events she knew she was safe, she knew they meant her no harm, so long as she was away from the horrors brought upon her by her own family, she k ew everything would be alright.  
  
Aaron opened his mouth to follow up with another question when he felt Robert's touch on his shoulder.   
  
"It's...it's okay" Robert said, his voice calm and steady in a way that instinctively made Aaron and Jacob relax.  
  
"It's really her." He said keeping his eyes glues to her. He took a deep breath and stepped towards her as both Aaron and Jacob released her feeling his calm. "How? Where have you been?"  
  
"Dad...Lawrence and Chrissie. They..." She tried to get out but the tears finally broke as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Robert. She had been running on pure adrenaline since she had been released from her captivity by the voice that helped her. Memories flooding back of the tortures she had endured at the hands of her own family. At the hands of those who were meant to love her.  
  
Robert could feel her shaking in his arms, he could feel the cold coming off her body. She felt too cold, even for their kind and he was no longer sure if it was her sobbing causing the shaking or something else. He gently pulled back the hood of her cloak and his stomach dropped at the sight before him. She was bruised and covered in dried blood as if she had been under constant torture. She should have healed from any punishment. He's thinking to himself when it clicks. Her temperature, the wounds, her state in general. They had been starving her with no telling of just how long or how severe.  
  
"How could they do this to ya?" He asked afraid of what the answer would be. "They're your family."  
  
"Not since Lawrence found out I wasn't his, that mom had strayed." She replied. "Everything changed after that.”

The group had all moved to the study where Rebecca recounted stories of her captivity, or at least the bits she remembers, the bits she was lucid for. For years Lawrence and Chrissies had kept her captive, tortured her for fun, and experimented on her. They had found out about her gift, not that they were short on it in the family, Chrissie herself had a deadly gift all her own, but what was special about Rebecca’s was that it could give them what they wanted. So, they experimented on her. They tried to find ways of amplifying her gift, and for years they used it to gain them knowledge, to gain them power. Her gift to see into the future allowed them to amass a wealth, it allowed them to make all the right moves to quickly move up in ranks, it allowed Lawrence the opportunity to gain control of his very own Coven. Through it all she had been starved, only fed the absolute minimum to keep her from desiccating, to keep her from a true Vampire death. They would wake her every couple of years to make her have visions, to give them insight on what was coming, and when she refused to help she would suffer Chrissie’s wrath.

“I knew it!” Robert shouted as he paced about the study, anger coursing through his very core. “I fucking knew it.” He turned looking to Leyla. “There was no way he had gotten to where he is by his own and every time…every fucking time we felt we had a lead on him, nothing. The old codger has always been steps ahead of us. This…This is why.”

“I’m…I’m so sorry.” Rebecca stuttered.

“No…you have nothing to be sorry for, Bex.” Robert replied. “None of this is your fault. What they did to you, no one blames ya for giving them what they wanted.”

Hearing the nickname alone gives her comfort. It’s been long since she’s heard it, since anyone’s called her that. “Still…” She managed before nearly buckling under exhaustion. With a hand to her head she keeps her sight on the floor, doing her best to focus.

“Shit…” Robert sneers feeling the guilt for not thinking about it already. “Mike. Do you have any blood? We need to get her fed, she won’t keep for long like this.”

Mike nods and is quickly on his feet heading out of the study.

“How did you manage to escape?” Leyla finally asked. All too suspicious of her sudden appearance.

“I…I didn’t.” Rebecca manages to say, her voice meek, her body shutting down.

“What do you mean you didn’t? Robert asks, his brows furrowing.

“I…I don’t know really. There was someone…something. They let me out. A voice. It woke me and led me out. It’s hard to explain. Everything is so fuzzy.”

Robert quickly looks between Leyla and the others.

“A trap? You think they let her out hoping she’d lead them to us?” Aaron is the first to ask as he stands from his seat and walking over to Robert’s side.

Robert shoots a look at Leyla and she is up on her feet in seconds. “Doesn’t matter if it is or isn’t, we can’t take a chance either way. Leyla take Ross make a sweep straight out the entrance, fan out the front perimeter of the grounds. Tracy can you and David post guard outside while Aaron and I cover the back?”

 “Yeah, no problem.”

“Good.” He replies before turning to Alicia. “You think you can cloak safehouse?”

Alicia nods in response. “It’ll take a few minutes, but yeah, I can do it.”

“Good.” He replies as he finally turns to Jacob. “Can you please keep guard of Alicia?”

Jacob can’t help the flush of red that creeps up his neck and onto his cheeks as he nods in response. “Yeah, you can count on me.”

As everyone stands and begins to walk off Rebecca reaches for Robert’s arm and pulls him back. “Robert. Wait.” She manages to let out as Mike walks back in with a few blood bags. “Please. We…we need to talk. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for that when we make sure it’s all safe.” He tells her. “You feed and rest. We won’t take too long. We’ll just need to scout until Alicia’s cloaking goes up.”

“No.” Rebecca lets out shaking her head. “It’s important.”

“But, Bex. We have to make sure you weren’t followed.”

“It’s okay, you stay with her and I’ll go with Aaron.” Mike interrupts as he hands Rebecca a blood bag. “I heard the order. I’ll cover for you.”

“Yeah. Okay.” Robert agrees nodding at Mike who turns and nods back at Aaron.

“I’ll give you two a minute.” Mike tells them before heading back out of the study.

Robert places his hands on Aarons neck and as his fingers brush the edges of his jaw he leans in and places a kiss to his lips. “Don’t take too long, yeah?”

“We won’t.” Aaron replies with a small grin on his face as he steps back and heads out of the study.

Before Robert has a chance to turn his attention back to her, Rebecca’s voice grabs his attention.

“Are they gone?” She asks. “All of them.”

“What?”

“Robert are they gone?”

“Yeah, they need to make sure we’re safe here.”

“We are. Trust me.” She says before biting into the blood bag and nearly draining it in seconds.

“What do you mean we are.”

“Were safe, Robert. No one followed me.”

“How do you know?”

As she finishes sucking the bag dry and throws it on the end table before grabbing a hold of a second one. “Because I’m not stupid, Robert.” As some color returns to her face, her personality comes right back with it. The blood is quickly pumping through her body making the old Rebecca, the one Robert knew long ago reappear. “I made sure no one did.”

“So why didn’t you say so?”

“Because I needed you along, Robert!” She shouts. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something you need to prepare for.”

____

Thought it had all taken but fifteen minutes Aaron couldn’t help but feel unsteady about being away from Robert. Though he tried his best he couldn’t resist feeling something akin to heartache, it didn’t help that it hit him suddenly minutes after they had started scouting the perimeter. It didn’t help matters when he came upon a stranger who was clearly looking for the safehouse. In his state he barely had control of his strength and nearly crushed the stranger’s chest in as he quickly pinned him against the ground when he had caught him off guard. Had Mike not been so close by, the stranger would have suffered the consequences.

When Alicia had successfully cast her cloaking spell she called everyone to her and led them back in with. As they all walked back into the study the found Robert sitting on the sofa, a blank expression on his face, Aaron could feel something was off and quickly made his way to him. “Where’s Rebecca? Is everything okay?”

Robert gave him the slightest of smiles and replied. “She’s fed and now she’s resting. She should heal properly now that she has blood in her system.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah…everything is okay.” He replies before quickly looking past Aaron and Noticing the stranger. “Connor?”

“Hiya.” Connor replied as he came in for a hug.

“What are you doing here?”

“I have news.” Connor says as he looks around stopping his gaze at Tracy, David, and Jacob. “News you’ll want to hear.” He says nodding directly at them.

Tracy steps forward furrowing her brows. “What kind of news?”

“About your kind.” Connor replied.

“Our kind.” Tracy quickly shoots back offended at the choice of words. “Who are ya? Robert, who is this bloke?”

Robert steps in trying to calm Tracy down. “This is Connor. He is one of my spies.”

Leyla can’t help but let out a small chuckle. “Spies…is that what you’re calling them?” She asks with a hint of sarcasm.

Robert shoots her a look before his eyes dart over to Aaron then back to Leyla.

“Soz.” She apologizes.

“What is it?” Robert asks Connor moving the conversation along.

“I’ve been keeping tabs on favors Coldstone has been doing for the Whites for a while now. That old bastard really has his hooks in everyone.”

“So, what is it? What does _our kind_ have to do with your news?” Tracy butts in.

“A couple of months ago I found out that our Coven was funneling a lot of resources to a facility a few hours west of here, and I mean _a lot_ of resources. Tech, man power, you name it. Took some finessing but I finally managed to get myself into this facility and…” He informs them letting out a deep breath. “I don’t know what all they’re up to there but it’s not good, Robert. It’s not good. They have Lycans there, lots of them. They’re experimenting on them and their venom. They’re weaponizing it.”

“What?” Robert asks.

“That must be where they’re taking them all. We…we need to get them out.”

“Well that’s why I’m here.” Connor adds. “See, security there is usually impenetrable. There’s way too many guards and they are heavily armed, but something happened today, just a couple of hours ago. There was some sort of massive panic. A breakout of some kind in the east wing of the facility that’s made them move the majority of security there. They’re putting all their efforts into recouping whatever it is that got out.”

Almost in unison everyone in the room looks at each other and let out. “Rebecca.”

“Who?” Connor asks confused, he’s clearly missed something.

“We can fill you in later.”

“Okay, any way you look at it. If you want to hit them, this is it, we have to hit them tonight while their eye is turned the other way. They are up to something big at that facility and whatever it is we have to stop it.”

Robert slowly scans the room looking at everyone as they nod in agreement. This could be it. This could be their chance to bring down the Whites. He knows it’s the opening they’ve been waiting for, but all that he can feel is unease. A crippling fear he’s doing his best to hide from Aaron.

Connor has brought them good news and a chance to bring down the Whites, but Rebecca has brought him something more important, she brought him a vision of what’s to come. She’s brought him news he can’t shake off.

“Tonight it is then.” He says looking back at everyone.

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robert, Aaron, and the team make their move to rescue the missing Lycans and take down the White Coven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got around to this fic!  
> Still needs to go through edits so I'll try and update soon.
> 
> Please leave comments and let me know ow what you think.

 

**CHAPTER 7**

* * *

A deadly silence hangs in the night, a silence that's finally broken when a cool breeze brings the only signs of sounds as the soft rustling of leaves from the trees fills the air. Something about the stillness, about the silence, is so unsettling. It sends a shiver down Robert's spine, just thinking about it. There was a complete lack of wildlife for at least a mile out, it's unlike anything he had ever witnessed. Something horrible is happening here, something so bad even the land seems scarred, it feels tainted. The closer they get to facility the deader nature appears to be, as if the something coming from within was poisoning the land.  
  
The facility was located deep in the woods and the surrounding tree line gave them perfect cover, granted the cover was being lost more and more as they got closer as the trees and shrubs withered. Luckily for them it wasn't needed much as it seemed fairly unguarded. They only came across a handful of guards as they approached the lab owned by the White Coven, guards that were easily evaded and disposed of. Rebecca's escape had caused a stir within the facility and sent the majority of the guards to the far end where she had been held.   
  
Connor had been right, now was the time to strike, they wouldn't get a better opportunity than this. Tonight, was the end. The White Coven had to be dealt with. Whatever it was that they were conspiring had to be stopped and the Lycans had to be rescued.  
  
As they all reach the end of the tree line Robert turns and takes a final look into Aaron's eyes, and they both nod signaling they are ready.   
  
"This is it." Robert thinks to himself wrapping an arm around Aaron's waist and grabbing on to Connor's shoulder with his free hand, and in the blink of an eye they're gone.  
  
_3 Hours before the attack._  
  
"No chance!" Aaron shouted at Robert. He hated nothing more than shouting at him, than being mad at him. It's something he'll never get used to. Not even in all their lifetimes.  
  
"I'm sorry, Aaron, but I've made the decision." Robert replied. He felt the same way, he could feel exactly what Aaron was feeling, and he knew how frustrated it was for him, but he would rather have Aaron mad at him than to lose him again.  
  
"Well, I'll tell ya where you can stick that decision. I'm coming with whether you like it or not." He was the only person who ever stood up to Robert, really stood up to him, it was something that drove him mad, yet something he genuinely loved about him. "Look either I go, and you let me in on the plan, or I dangerously sneak along not knowing anything." He tells him matter of factly. "So, what's it gonna be?"  
  
As much as he wanted to keep him out of it, out of everything, Robert knew there was no point. Aaron was right. Either he would be part of the plan or he would sneak along which would be so much more dangerous than allowing him to be there. If Aaron was included in the plans, at least he could make sure he was in the safest place possible. He looked over to Mike and Connor nodding his head, they did the same in return as if knowing exactly what he had in mind.  
  
Everyone had gathered in the study and listened closely as Connor walked them through the layout of the facility, where security was the lightest, where it was highest, and where the cells were located. The cells being the safest bet for where all the taken Lycans would be held. Connor knew the ins and out of facility, not just for the grounds, but also to their security systems. He was able to sneak into some of the sub systems to show them all the floorplans, they needed to be prepared. Unfortunately, that was as far as he could take them without alerting the system of the intrusion, he did however managed to catch sight of the power grids and was able to sneak into them, they noticed the amount of power that was being diverted to the cells, and it made it perfectly clear.  
  
"That's it! That's where they are!" Tracy shouted. "That's where I'm going."  
  
"Woah, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Connor quickly interjected. "Aside of the Eastern Wing where they kept Rebecca, this is where security will be the highest. The majority of the guards still on this end of the facility will be in there."  
  
"I don't care." She argued. "I'm going in."  
  
"As much as I'd love to see you tear some arseholes to shreds, it's too dangerous for you to go in."  
  
"So what's the plan, boss?" Mike asked in a thick Irish accent. Some of the group barely caught what he had said, but Robert knew exactly what he had asked. He also knew the question was more for the rest of the group, both Mike and Connor already knew what he was thinking, they'd both been privy to his strategizing enough to know where this was heading.  
  
"We split up." Robert says, a worried look spreading across his face as he said the words. He knew it had to be done, but the words filled him with dread. Anything could happen and if anything went wrong he couldn't protect everyone, he may not even be able to protect Aaron.  
  
_Current time._    
  
A thunderous roar fills the room nearly making the walls of the room tremble. The lights flicker for a moment and all security monitors flicker. Aaron is on his knees. Agony spreads throughout his body as he feels the burn coursing through him. Everything had been going right, it had all been going too right, too easy, and in the blink of an eye it all changed. A simple touch and Aaron found himself on the floor, screaming in pain, dying. He gasped for air and convulsed between every searing ache that flowed throughs his very nerves. There was nothing he could do but writhe as the woman stood over him. She looked down at him with such discontent, looked at him as if he was the scum of the earth.  
  
"You must be the idiot my Lucky was keeping an eye on." She says looking completely unimpressed. She steps closer to him and kicks him onto his back before placing her heel to his chest. "Not sure why my useless sister picked up on you, but I guess we'll have plenty of time to find out now that you have delivered yourself to our doorstep." She says as she looks at her fingernails, the same ones that dug into his skin moments ago, the ones that sent the searing pain coursing through his veins. Her touch poisonous, it was deadly, and it was responsible for his final moments.  
  
Aaron tries to muster up the strength to move, to do anything, but his body is betraying him. Whatever the woman did to him wasn't good, it was serious, it was fatal. He could feel himself slipping away. The pain was excruciating, yet even through it, all he could think of was Robert. He had been so determined not to be left behind, so determined to join the fight, and because of it. He was going to lose Robert forever. Worst of all he was going to die without seeing him one last time. "I'm so sorry, Robert." He thought to himself, and in that thought, it all got worse. He could feel it, could feel him. Robert was feeling the same thing, the same pain. Robert was also dying. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." Leyla muttered under her breath. She was surrounded. She was outnumbered. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't bother her, hell she'd welcome the challenge, and without a fail she would always come out on top. This time however, things were different. She was surrounded, and she was the only thing between the several dozen guards and Robert, who was laid out writhing in pain on the ground. She could tell it was bad, she was certain this was it, Robert was going to die. She slowly retreated, taking slow steps backwards to Robert, keeping her eye on the enemy, hoping that back up would arrive in time. Mike and Ross where not far behind, with Tracy and David following, but none of that mattered. Leyla could hear Robert's heart, his pulse, it was barely hanging on and it was fading quickly.  
  
"Come on, luv. It can't end this way. Not like this." Leyla said over her shoulder hoping against everything that Robert could hear her, that he would somehow find the strength to bounce back. "You just got your bloke back, and we were meant to go out in a blaze of glory ages from now.." She said as a tear ran down her cheek. As a guard with enough guts stepped forward she whipped her arm out while keeping her guarded stance in place, and in the blink of an eye her bladed whip flew across and in a swoop sending the man's head flying across the air.  
  
She quickly pulled it back swaying in a twirling motion before wrapping it around an arm and looking back at the others. "Any of you boys feeling as lucky?" She bluffed, trying to buy time. Any amount of time. Help had to be on its way. It had to.  
  
"Jacob!" Alicia shouted as she ran to his side. They both had been guarding the group's exit, awaiting the free Lycans when it happened. Much like Tracy, Jacob had quickly changed into his Lycan form in the blink of an eye, only seconds before he dropped to the ground in agony. A roar that reverberated along the long corridor leading to the exit exploded from his lungs. The roar was so loud it was more of a sign, no an alert, to their presence. There was no doubt it would be heard.  
  
"What's wrong Jacob?" Alicia cried as panic took over, unsure of what to do. She quickly dropped to his side and began whispering. The only thing she could think of was to set up a barrier around them, to set up protection in case Jacob's roar brought any guards their way. As she finished she placed her hands to his body and began searching for the cause of his pain, for the cause of his convulsions. It wasn't long before she saw the signs of poisoning. She was certain, but she couldn't tell what it was or where it came from, and without that information her vast knowledge was useless.  
  
"Come on Jakey." She whispered to him, doing her best to reach him, to ensure he knew she was there beside him. As she stroked along his hulking back she heard exactly what she was afraid of, the marching feet of guards heading their way. She didn't have the senses shared by Lycans and Vampires, but even still she could tell there were many. She slowly stood as she saw them turn into the corridor that led to the exit, that led to them. If this was her last stand, there was no way she was going down without a fight. She closed her and formed seals with her hands and in seconds a trail of flames burst from the ground heading in a fiery blaze towards the guards.  
  
_3 Hours before the attack._  
  
"Split up?!" Ross shouted. "Are you crazy? I know your boy there says it's not as guarded, but we all know that place is going to be crawling with guards. Splitting up is suicide."  
  
"You sure about this, Robert?" Tracy asked. She's known him for too long, she knows that he wouldn't suggest such a thing unless it was necessary, then again, she knew him long ago and he might not be the same now.  
  
Robert turned to her and nodded before looking back to everyone. He had a plan. He knew they could succeed, even with the numbers against them. He and Layla had taken down entire Covens all their own, this time however, they had others with them. Others they did not want to sacrifice, and more importantly they had countless Lycans whose lives depended on them succeeding. They all had roles and they all had to do their part in order to come out alive.  
  
"So, what's the plan?" Aaron asked taking a step closer to him. He took his hand lacing their fingers together.  
  
Robert turned his attention to him and squeezed his hand. It all started with Aaron. He had to be a part of the plan and as much as he hated the idea of not having him within his sight, he knew this would be the safest place for him.   
  
"You and Connor are going in first. Everything depends on you two taking out the comms." He told him as he looked deep within his eyes. He did his best to hide his reservation from him, but deep down he knew Aaron would feel it. Their link is too strong to hide anything from each other. "That communication center needs to be in our hands. Without it, there is no way we make it through this. You take it and the rest of the facility won't even know we're there. We'll be able to get in, free the captive Lycans, and set explosives before they even know what hit them."  
  
Much like Robert, Aaron hated the idea of being apart from him, but he trusted that Robert knew what he was doing, trusted that this was the best chance they had, and wanted nothing more than to make sure they all came out alive and safe, Robert in particular. Aaron broke the eye contact and looked to Connor who was standing beside him, they both nodded at each other and he quickly turned his attention back to Robert. "We got it."  
  
Feeling the confidence coming from Aaron's assurance, Robert turned back to the rest of the group and asked Connor to pull up as much of the blueprints to the facility he could access. As he looked them over he leaned over to Leyla and gave her a look. They had been together for so long there were moments where words were not even needed, where simple gestures were enough. Aaron couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy, it reminded him of his own relationship with Robert. After so many lifetimes together, they could have entire conversations with just a look between them. He knew that what they had was more than anyone could ever compete with, but he couldn't help it, the sting was there, or at least it was until he felt the squeeze in his hand. Robert looked back at him with a smirk, and that's all it took. He knew that in his eyes there would never be anyone else.  
  
Looking back to the group Robert let go of Aaron's hands and laid out the plan.  
  
"Once the comms are out Leyla and myself will go in. We will be the brute force, we will handle the guards."  
  
"You kidding? You're gonna need all the help you can get." Ross was quick to argue.  
  
"You'll only get in the way, luv." Leyla teased in his direction.  
  
"Enough." Robert huffed. "We don't have time for this. Ross, you and Mike will follow as support. You can deal with anyone we may have missed, but your job is to set the charges." He said as he zoomed in on the blueprints. "Here, here, here, and here." Robert said as he pointed to the rooms labeled as Labs, Holding Cells, Electrical Room, and Data Center. "We take these out and that facility is as good as useless. This has to end. After tonight, the Whites are done."  
  
"You mean explosives?" Ross asked with excitement, only receiving a smirk back from Robert. "Now we're talking my language."  
  
"Tracy." He said turning to her. "You and David have the cells. You go in, you get everyone out, no one is left behind. Your people, they're your priority."  
  
Both Tracy and David nodded in response.   
  
"Alicia, you and Jacob cover the exit. Make sure it's safe for all the Lycans coming through. Chances are they will be too weak to fight, so you make sure they have a clear exit and make sure they make it to the rendezvous spot." Robert said. "We all have a role, we all do what we have to do, and we make it out of this alive."  
  
  
_Moments before the attack_.  
  
  
Like a panther in the cover of night stalking its prey, the group moved from the tree line towards their point of entry. Everyone moved in unison as they kept and eye and ear out for any signs of guards, they had the element of surprise and they aimed to keep it that way. The sound of a small group of guards sent Robert's hand reaching for Leyla seconds before the vanished from sight, they had  _jumped_  and caught the guards before they even caught sight of them. In seconds all that left of them was a cloud of ash as the Blond Demon and She-Devil disposed of their heads. Just as quickly as they had  _jumped_  from the group they returned as they made it to their point of entry.  
  
Robert turned to Aaron and put every ounce of feeling he had for him into the look he gave him. As he placed a hand to Aaron's cheek, he saw it, the green field, their green field. He felt the love, he felt Robert.  
  
"Be careful." Robert said to him.  
  
"I will do." Aaron responded and turned to Connor. "Let's make this quick, yeah?." He said, and they were off.  
  
Robert turned back to the group and placing a key card he had taken off one of the guards to the door, he opened it and nodded for them to follow. Alicia walked in first masking them from the surveillance cameras, she had sent them into a static frenzy to cover the door opening, to cover their entry, and once in she had masked them from them. She was powerful enough to mask them from the cameras without any issues, but Robert wasn't taking any chances. Having control of the communications center meant she didn't have to worry about masking them, it made it easier for her to keep her mind on task and made it so they could control all of the radio communications. If anyone saw or heard something they could make sure no one else heard it being called in. Aaron and Connor would be misdirecting everyone.  
  
As they reached the entrance to the Communications Room Aaron turned to Connor. "You ready?" He asked.  
  
Connor gave him a look, almost as if he had been offended. "I was born ready."  
  
At his word Aaron leaned back and quickly shoved forward sending the doors flying off the hinges as he burst through them with Connor behind him. The room was full of guards manning the security camera feeds and radios, every last one a Vampire part of the White Coven. They all quickly stood from their positions, some aiming to hit the alarm, others reaching for guns. Unfortunately for them Aaron was faster, much faster, even by Vampire standards. He had taken out five guards all before they had a chance to even react, his speed was unlike anything they had seen before, every one of them caught by surprise as he sent them flying across the room. Connor took the opportunity to the disarm the remaining three guards as they all tried to gun Aaron down, and in less than two minutes the Communication Room was theirs.  
  
"Mate!" Connor shouted as he looked him up in amazement. "I've never seen anyone move that fast.   
  
Aaron simply smirked as he looked back at him. "Uh thanks, I guess."  
  
Laughing at the response Connor reached for his ear and pressed a button on the device he was wearing. "Communications is ours, looks you're up." He communicated to Robert.  
  
"Alright, mate. You keep an eye on the security cameras and I'll kill the radios."  
  
"Yeah, got it." Aaron responded as he made his way to monitor station. The back wall of the room was covered in monitors and the feeds switched rooms every other minute. It occurred to him that there was an untold number of cameras in the facility, made him realize just how right Robert had been to make sure they took the Communication Room first. They wouldn't have made it far otherwise. His eyes flickered across the screens only stopping when he noticed the cells. There were several cells currently occupied, too many, and every occupant had clearly been tortured. A sick feeling built in his stomach as he looked on every captive looked worse than the last, it all became too much, and he nearly looked away, but his something on the last monitor caught his eye. It took him a second as he stared at the screen, focusing, making sure he was seeing correct. "Adam?"   
  
"We're up." Robert whispered over his shoulder to everyone as they awaited their signal. They quickly moved down the corridor and turned into a doorway. "This is it." He said as he placed his hand to Leyla’s shoulder, it had become like second nature to him. Every time they were about to attack he did the same, he shared his ability to _jump_  with Leyla, so she could do as he does. It was what made them a deadly team. Together they had taken down Covens all their own, together yet apart, as the blinked from one location to another. Easily disposing of their enemies before they truly had a chance to react.   
  
"Once we're in, Tracy, you and David make straight across to the stairwell. The cells will be just below. Mike, Ross, you follow them and place the explosives like we planned. If we really want to bring this place down we have to blow it up from below, everything has to be destroyed." They all nodded in agreement and Robert stepped back and kicked the door in. The door flew off the hinges taking down a guard with it, and like that Robert and Leyla had vanished. The sound of gunfire erupted shortly after as the guards began frantically shooting trying to hit them, all they managed to hit was dead air. Leyla stuck to the ground floor and had  _jumped_  behind the nearest guards, two men who had been too busy gossiping to even notice the initial boom of the door being kicked in, were caught off guard as Leyla kicked in the back of knee of one of them, all the while pulling his gun from his holster. She quickly turned and put a bullet through the second man's head before doing the same to the first one.  
  
Robert had  _jumped_  to the upper level, the moment he kicked the door in he caught eye of a guard, a more proper one, an alert one. He had immediately pulled his gun and aimed in their direction. Unfortunately, I for him Robert's  _jump_ was much faster. The man hadn't even pulled the trigger when Robert snapped his neck from behind him. He quickly lifted the man and threw him down taking out another guard below him. He shot Leyla a quick smirk and he  _jumped_  again right before the other guards on his level opened fire. He had just taken out a fourth guard as he saw Tracy, David, Mike, and Ross all run across and to the stairwell, now that they were safely across it was time for things to get messy. He began blinking in and out of sight as he threw guards one after another, of the balcony and down below. He hated to even think it, but Ross had been right, the place was still crawling with guards. It appeared that the majority of the guards on this end of the facility were in this open space. He expected there to be plenty, just not this many. Once he was sure the top level was clear he  _jumped_  back down to Leyla's side.  
  
"You ready for some real fun?" He asked her. She smirked as she dropped the gun and pulled her bladed whip from her wait.  
  
She smirked as she saw several of the guards that Robert threw down began to stand. "Did you really just throw them off? You know we can survive a fall, right?"  
  
"Something's wrong." Is all Robert could say in response. "It's Aaron. He's in distress." He could feel it, it wasn't danger he felt, but still it was enough to make him want to  _jump_  to his side. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't though, he couldn't leave Leyla to fend for herself. Not when they were surrounded by guards, with more storming in from another room.  
  
He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Adam, his best mate, was alive. The shock had taken over, he couldn't help it, the sight of him took him back to that night, took him back to the moment he saw Gerry snap his neck.   
  
"Aaron, are ye okay?" Connor asked. "Aaron?" With the radios killed he walked over to Aaron's side and followed his line of sight. "Who is..." He tried to ask before coughed out in pain, blood spilling from his mouth. He looked down to see a fist extending from his chest. "Fucking hell." He coughed before he dropedd to the floor lifeless.  
  
Aaron was in shock, the thud of Connor's body hitting the floor finally snaps him out of it, and he's barely had a chance to look down when all that's left of Connor is ashes. Dread runs through him at the sigh and he’s gasping for air as he feels fingernails digging into his shoulder seconds after. There's a woman standing behind him and he's barely registered her when he hits the ground in pain, in agony. A feeling coursing through his body, an all too familiar feeling, the feeling of death. Worst of all, he knows that Robert is feeling it as well. He's dying and he's taking Robert with him.

  
_Current time._  
  
Pain flows his body, it's so strong it's made him feel numb. He's not quite sure how it's possible but it's going away. _"This is it."_ Aaron thinks to himself. With the pain dying out he realizes he must be taking his last breaths. He closes his eyes focusing on Robert, focusing on everything he's ever felt for him, and he says goodbye as a cool sensation comes over him.   
  
"Get away from him!" A familiar voice shouts, making his eyes slowly flutter open, they focus just in time to see Rebecca swing her fist right at the woman's face. The impact is powerful, it's powerful enough that he felt it, it's powerful enough that it sends the woman crashing through the wall.  
  
"Aaron? Are you okay?" She asks as she kneels beside him. "Can you stand?"  
  
It's then that he realizes the pain has fully gone away. It's gone, he doesn't feel it anymore. All he feels is his connection to Robert, to Jacob. 

  
"Yeah...I think I'm fine, actually." He tells her as he stands and just like before, he feels them. He feels both Robert and Jacob stand just as he did, and he feels their rage.  
  
"Yes!" Leyla shouted as she saw Robert stand. "You fuckers really are screwed now." She said smiling as she began swinging her whip.   
  
Robert didn't even reply he simply rushed forward and blinked out of sight and reappeared as he hooked his arm around a guard all the while his foot hit the throat of another guard, his other foot slammed back on the back of his head, and he spun back towards the ground. Both guards hit the floor as their necks snapped like twigs and Robert had already  _jumped_.  
  
Leyla had followed close behind, dashing towards the guards. She ran straight for one throwing her knee in the air sending the guard flying along with her seconds before blinking out of sight and appearing midair. Her hands were on another guard’s head while her legs pointed straight in the air, she spun herself in place snapping the man's neck and quickly brought her legs down, placing foot to the man's body she fully pulled back and as she touched the ground she used the momentum throw the body towards other guards. A couple at a time Robert and Leyla tore through the guards leaving an opening for Tracy and David to run through with the missing Lycans, most were able to move but the few that couldn't were being carried by others. Mike and Ross followed behind them helping with the Lycans too weak to move on their own. It was clear they had accomplished their jobs. It was time to end things.  
  
Aaron and Rebecca were close to the entry when the door burst open and David ran out with one of the missing Lycans on his back, he was followed by over a dozen others. Aaron stood back and kept an eye, there was one person in particular he was looking for, someone he was sure couldn’t be alive. “Adam!” He shouted the moment he saw the familiar face being carried by one of the missing Lycans. He was unconscious, but alive. He figured it was for the best, this would not be the time to explain anything to him.

Tracy was at the door waiting on Mike and Ross who were both carrying injured Lycans, she made room for them to get through and followed behind them, she had just crossed the threshold when they all heard the loud click, and before she even had the chance to react Jacob had shoved her clear as a blast door slammed down trapping him and Alicia inside with Robert and Leyla.  
  
"JACOB!" Tracy shouted slamming her fist against the blast door. It was thick, way too thick, there was no way she could make it budge.  
  
"TRACY!" David shouted as he jumped in front of her, and with brute force he slammed against her. She looked over his to see the silver spear that had impaled him through the chest, had he not held onto it would have impaled her as well.  
  
"DAVID!" She cried out, the shriek turning to a thunderous roar.  
  
A small group of guards had surrounded them, all armed with silver weapons. Not that they would stop her, not that they could slow her down. As she felt David's pulse died she transformed into her terrifying form and lunged towards the guards with Aaron and Rebecca by her side.  
  
With nowhere else to go Jacob ran towards Robert and Leyla and yelled for Alicia to follow. It was clear that Robert and Leyla could handle themselves, the legends were true, the Blond Demon and She-Devil were a force to be reckoned with. The open space was full of guards, full of White Coven Vampires, dead ones. Just a handful were left, if he was going to ever say he fought alongside them, this was his chance. Jacob took his Lycan form once again and dashed for the closest guards.  
  
As they finished off the last of them Robert finally turned to Jacob, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. "Nice work, mate, but what are you doing here? Your job was to make sure the injured got out."  
  
"We're trapped." Alicia interrupted.  
  
"What do you mean we're trapped?"  
  
"Blast doors. They must have activated some sort of security measure, we're stuck in here."  
  
"That's not good." Robert said. "The explosives were set for fifteen minutes. It's been twelve."  
  
"You can just jump us out of here can't you?" Alicia asked.  
  
"I...I...don't think I can. Leyla?" He asks as he turns to her   
  
"Soz, luv. I'm tapped."   
  
"Fuck." He says between breaths. "Think you can blast through a wall?" He asks as he looks back to Alicia.  
  
"I'm not sure."  
  
"You have to try." Robert tells her.  
  
"I know you can do it, sis." Leyla reassures her.  
  
Alicia nods and turns to the wall closes to them, she begins forming seals with her hands and thrusts her hands towards it sending a massive wall of fire slamming into it. The flames lick and beat at the wall, the heat so intense it makes her sweat.   
  
"Come one, Alicia." Leyla whispers.  
  
Repeatedly, Alicia thrusts her hands towards to the wall, a new wave of flames blasting towards it every time, and when she finally tires out they see the flames have blasted through the brick and mortar revealing a solid wall of steel behind it.  
  
"Fuck!" Robert shouts. "I'm... I'm so sorry he says as he pulls Alicia and Leyla into his arms."  
  
Jacob stands by for a moment until Robert pulls him into the hug as well. "I'm sorry, Jacob." He says seconds before they hear the explosions, he quickly covers them the best he can, and everything goes dark.  
  
It's only moments that he hears the silence that he slowly lifts his head and opens his eyes to see the flames and debris around them, suspended as if frozen in time. Dumbfounded, he looks back down to Alicia. "Alicia? Is this you? Where have you been hiding this trick?"  
  
She slowly opens her eyes and looks around with amazement, there’s something in the air, some type of energy, the air is crackling with it. She's read about this type of magic, but never in her lifetime did she expect to witness it. It's very dangerous, not to mention it takes more power than she has, more power than any witch she has ever met could have.  
  
"This...this is time manipulation, and it's not me." She answers. "I...I don't understand."  
  
Robert's about to reply when he hears it. It's a quiet whisper at first. "Robert."  
  
It makes him flinch at first, he’s not sure where it's coming from, but there's something reassuring about it.  
  
"Who are you?" He asks. Leyla, Alicia, and Jacob all look at him with confusion.  
  
"You must get out." The whisper tells him. "I cannot hold this much longer."  
  
"But..."  
  
""Go!"  
  
"But I don't have the strength to jump us out of here." He replies so naturally, as if the whisper was coming from someone in front of him.  
  
"Who are you talking to, luv? You okay?" Leyla asks.  
  
"The connection you share with the Lycan is fading, but it's still strong, you can borrow energy from him. Use it and go! You don't have much time." The whisper pleads as it fades away.  
  
He's not quite sure how he knows what he's doing but he places his hand to Jacob's chest and closes his eyes. "Sorry, mate. Need to borrow some energy."  
  
"You what?" Alicia asks.  
  
"It's okay, I trust ya." Jacob responds.  
  
Taking a hold of everyone Robert pulls them in close and jumps.  
  
With the threat taken care of and the newly freed Lycans safely on their way back to the rendezvous point, Aaron finds himself unable to stop looking back towards the facility. He knows Robert can handle himself and with Leyla by his side he knows he's safe, yet the pit in his stomach won't fade. He feels an unease, the same unease he's always felt when he’s apart from Robert. They were made for one another, they were meant to always be by each other's side. "I can't." He said as he stopped dead in his tracks. He had been trailing behind the group along with Rebecca and Ross making sure the group was clear, but he had had enough. He was going no further, not without Robert.  
  
"Mate, Sugden can take care of himself. He'll be..." Ross tried to assure him when the heard the explosion. The blast was loud and powerful enough that they felt it from where they stood, some of them nearly tumbled.  
  
"Robert!" Aaron shouted and nearly made a run towards the facility when he heard the response.  
  
"Yeah?" Robert teased as he wrapped his arms Aaron and squeezed him tightly.  
  
"Fuck! Don't you ever scare me like that!"  
  
"I promise."  
  
"Don't make promises you can't keep."  
  
"Shut up and kiss me." He said as he leaned down and took Aaron's lips in his. "Everyone okay?"  
  
Aaron looked down to the floor and shook his head. "David."  
  
"Oh god." He said as he pulled away from Aaron and run forward to Tracy. He pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly as she cried into his shoulder.  
  
"My dad...is he...is he dead?" Jacob asked Aaron.  
  
"I'm sorry, mate."   
  
"Don't be, we all knew this was dangerous. We knew what we were risking, and he would have gladly given his life for anyone of the Lycans we freed. He'll be remembered as a hero." Jacob replied before sprinting ahead making his way to Tracy.  
  
Under the cover night they had met with Harriet and a group of her pack, they had been waiting for them with transport and supplies for the injured. Harriet had offered to take in the rescued Lycans as Tracy's camp was not safe for the time being, not until this was all over. They patched everyone up and sent them on their way.  
  
"What about us?" Ross asked.  
  
"We." Robert responded. "We are taking an old friend home. He will be honored and buried where he belongs. Heaven help any sod that dare mess with is tonight."   
  
"Everyone ready?" He asked.  
  
They all nodded, and Robert placed his hand to Leyla's shoulder sharing his gift with her once again. Robert wrapped an arm around Aaron's waist and wrapped his other arm around Jacob as he held David's body in his arm, and Tracy placed her hand to Robert's shoulder.   
  
Leyla looked over to Alicia, Ross, Rebecca, and Mike who was carrying an unconscious Adam. "Gonna need you all to hold hands." She told them.  
  
In the blink of an eye the all felt the tingle that came from the displacement. As if their bodies had been disintegrated and then been made whole again. It was a feeling most people never got used to, yet for Robert and Leyla it was like breathing. As they all breathed in they were back at Tracy's camp. Though most of the pack had been already been moved to Harriet's camp a large group had remained. The security around the camp had been extended and the group was ready for any intrusions.  
  
It wasn't long before a petite woman with blond hair approached them, she ran quickly to Tracy and wrapped her arms around her. "I’m so sorry, Trace." She said as she squeezed her in her arms.  
  
"Ness." Is all that Tracy could let out before she broke down in tears.  
  
Looking past Tracy and straight at Robert she gave him a sad smile. It had been ages since they've seen each other, even longer than when Robert last saw her sister. Vanessa looked at him with concern. "I know you guys had a rough day, but I'm afraid I have bad news."  
  
"How bad?" Robert asked.  
  
"We've been keeping an ear out on all frequencies and we've confirmed with the few Vampire friends we have, and..." She said before pausing. "War, Robert. The White Coven has taken over all major Coven, and they've declared war on yours."  
  
"What?"  
  
"They're all coming after you."

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robert and Aaron are on the run. The White Coven has taken over and they've set their eyes on Robert and his Coven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while, far too long actually, but an update is finally here for the few of you guys that read it. It still needs to go through edits so I'll update as soon as I can.
> 
> Please leave comments and let me know what you think.

**CHAPTER 8**

* * *

 

“Leave us.” Aaron ordered. He was the baby of the group, he was no one to be ordering anyone around, but no one argued. Everyone could feel the tension, they could all see how Robert was bricking it. He had not been the same since the attack on the White Coven's facility, yes they had managed to save the missing Lycans and destroy the facility, but the price they paid may have been too high. David was dead, so was Connor, and while they took the facility down, something major happened. Something they never saw coming. The White Coven had taken over, somehow they took over every other Coven, and they had declared war on Robert and his Coven.  
  
“Robert, you can't lose it now.” Aaron said, his voice laced with sympathy. He could feel what Robert felt. The guilt, the pressure, the anger. “They need you now, more than ever.” He said pointing towards the door of the study, referring to the rest of the group. “I need ya,” he walked over to Robert and placed a hand to his chest.   
  
The touch, it was soft, it was centering, and it made Robert feel at peace. He took a deep breath as if collecting himself. In all his years he had never felt like such a failure. “I...I'm sorry.”   
  
“Don't be. None of what happened was your fault. It's nobody's fault.” He said moving his hand lower until it gripped Robert's belt, he yanked him closer to himself, and smirked as he heard the groan escape Robert's mouth. Maybe Robert need to release some tension, maybe he just needed his mind on something else.   
  
Aaron placed a hand on the back of Robert's neck and pulled him in, their lips crashed into each other's, and soft moans from Robert were muffled by Aaron's mouth. The kiss was forceful yet soft, it was exactly what Robert needed, that much was clear when he took Aaron's face between his palms and pulled him even closer. He slowly began stepping backwards making his way towards the sofa. As frustrated as he was, he needed this, he wanted it.   
  
“No.” Robert let out as the back of his leg hit the sofa. “This isn't the time.” He tried to push Aaron back but found that he couldn't. Try as he might, there was no budging. Aaron's strength had grown severely over the past couple of weeks. He had finally settled into his new self, just as Robert had. Aaron was something new, and he himself was no longer a Vampire.   
  
“Don't fight it.” Aaron's raspy voice nearly whispered. “I can feel everything you feel, remember?” He borrowed some of Robert's snarkyiness, before he simply shoved him onto his back on top of the sofa.   
  
“Is that right?” There it, the cocky tone that Aaron's always loved about him.   
  
Aaron straddled him and stared deeply into Robert's eyes, he grinned knowing Robert had fully given in, he had fully given into him. He reached down and fisted his hand onto the soft fabric of Robert's shirt, and quickly ripped it off of him before leaning down and biting into his neck. He felt himself getting hard the moment he felt his fangs break skin, and he hadn't even tasted Robert yet.   
  
“Fuck.” Robert groaned as he pressed his head further back, giving Aaron all the access he needed. He licked his own lips as he felt the warm sensation of the lone stream that ran down his neck, the small drip Aaron missed as he sucked on his neck. He slithered his own hands beneath Aaron's shirt and slowly began sliding it up his torso, he took his time, didn't want to interrupt Aaron, didn't want the sensation to stop.  Aaron feeding on him had him rock hard in seconds, and he knew that the moment his shirt was off, he wouldn't be able to hold back.   
  
Aaron finally pulled back and ran his tongue along the marks he had left on Robert's neck, cleaning off the blood that had dripped past his lips. “Do it.” He told Robert, he could tell what he was thinking, could see exactly what it was that Robert wanted to do to him.   
  
Robert looked Aaron in the eyes and moved, the move felt subtle, yet it was anything but, it had been fast, and their positions had reversed. Aaron was now on his back and Robert was nestled between his legs. Gasping, Aaron threaded his fingers through Robert's hair as he returned the favor. He had only experienced it a handful of times now but feeling Robert's fangs break the skin of his neck was erotic. It was nearly as good as the sting he felt when Robert entered him, when Robert fucked him.   
  
“How bad do you want me to fuck you right now?” Robert asked pulling away from Aaron's neck, as if reading his mind. There was no point in subtlety, he knew what Aaron wanted, just as he knew Aaron was simply trying to relax him.   
  
“About as bad as you want to fuck me.”   
  
No further words were spoken, there was no need, not where this was heading. Robert leaned down and took Aaron's lips with his own, his tongue quickly parting Aaron's lips, they melted into the searing kiss. They could taste themselves in each other's mouths, the hint of iron yet sweet taste of their bloods mixing as their tongues swirled with one another. They groaned into the kiss and Aaron held Robert by the back of his neck, unwilling to part, and Robert grinded against Aaron's arse, wanting it more by the second.   
  
Aaron finally let go of Robert and pushed him back, quickly slipping his own shirt over his head and discarding it, just as Robert yanked his jeans and boxers off in on quick motion. No longer being held down, Aaron's hard dick came springing to life, a bead of precum glistening at the tip. Fuck was he ready. Robert ran his thumb along the tip of Aaron's dick then quickly placed it between his teeth. He ran his eye over Aaron's naked body then slowly turned his gaze to Aaron's eyes, and slowly licked his thumb.   
  
“I love the way you taste.” He smirked looking at Aaron.   
  
“Get these off.” Aaron replied as his fingers made quick work of Robert's belt, then he simply leaned back and placed his hands behind himself. He wanted to watch as Robert undid his jeans, so he watched as he did. He watched as Robert pulled them down, and he smirked as he watched him release his straining dick. He wanted to touch himself but seeing Robert in all his glory, seeing him in this way and fully hard, was nearly enough to make him cum.   
  
Robert could see the desperation in Aaron's eyes, they were soft and heavy at the same time. The look sent a chill down his spine and he could no longer contain himself, his jeans were still around his thighs, but he wrapped his hand around his straining dick and slapped it on Aaron's taint.   
  
“Ah fuck.” Aaron groaned, pushing into it. “Just fuck me already, Robert.” He begged, no longer sure if it was Robert's desire he was feeling or his own. “Please.”   
  
Robert pulled back a bit as he spit into his palm, he used it to slick himself up, his spit mixing with the precum that was leaking from his dick. Aaron licked his lips as he watched on, as he watched Robert stroke himself, like his own private peep show, and he braced himself when Robert placed his own hands on the back of his knees and pushed them close to his chest. He grinned as Robert looked him in the eyes, the question hanging in them, not even needed to be spoken. “You ready.” He asked. Aaron nodded.   
  
Robert reached down between them, guided himself, and slowly wiggled the head of his dick as it pressed at Aaron's hole.   
  
“Fuck.” Aaron gasped. The sting. The fucking sting. It hurts so good. He could feel Robert's dick stretching his hole, slowly, teasingly, amazingly. He moved his hands from the back of his head and reached down, he placed them on his arse cheeks, his fingertips on the edges of his hole, and he spread his cheeks apart. “Fuuuuuuck.” He moaned as Robert pushed through, as every last inch of him entered.   
  
Robert leaned down and took Aaron's lips, the kiss was soft, and it held every emotion running through them. As their tongues swirled together, Robert began to thrust into Aaron, every thrust was precise, as if they're movements were one in the same. Robert pushing in, and Aaron pushing against.   
  
“Fuck.” Robert moaned. “You feel so amazing.”   
  
Aaron tried to respond but whimpers we're all that fell from his lips as Robert thrusted into him. With precision, every thrust hit his prostate, made his eyes nearly roll back into his head. “Fuck.” He finally managed to get out, sounding almost like a whine. “You feel so fucking good.”   
  
Everything they had been through over the past several weeks had caught up to them, they had been too stressed, so far under pressure, they needed this. They needed the release. They could both feel themselves getting close.   
  
“Not yet.” Robert whispered I to Aaron's ear as he came to a stop. He pushed in as hard as he could and nestled into his neck. Aaron wrapped his arms around Robert's neck and held tight as he pulled them back I to a sitting position. “Ride me.”   
  
Aaron didn't need telling twice, with his arms still wrapped around Robert's neck he pulled him to his neck and began to ride him. Lifting himself off of Robert's dick until he was nearly out and slamming himself back down onto it. The filthy noises and thoughts coming from him made Robert bite down onto his neck. He could feel the pulse, thrumming, beating, as if calling his name. It's what Aaron wanted. As his fangs broke through the skin, Aaron threw his head back and his climax hit him. “Fuuuuuuck.” He moaned as the hot spurts of come shot onto their chests and stomachs.   
  
Robert could feel Aaron's hole clenching around him with every spurt, the pressure was enough to send him into his own climax. “I'm gonna come.”   
  
“Oh, fuck yeah. Come inside of me.” Aaron moaned.   
  
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” The string of expletives ran from Robert's mouth as his dick tensed with every shot, the hot streaks making Aaron's own softening dick tense.   
  
Complete spent for the moment Aaron fully collapsed on Robert. “Fuck...I think I needed that more than you did.” He joked.   
  
“I highly doubt that.” Robert said before letting out a loud sigh. As quickly as Aaron had made his stress melt away, it all came back. Too much was at stake, their lives all depended on him, and more importantly Aaron's life depended on him. That thought alone was nearly enough to send him spiraling. He couldn't lose him, not now, not after everything. The chain had been broken, any reference they could find on what they were, what they used to be, told them so. Once Immortal Souls were tainted by any other supernatural influence, there was no more being reborn once they died. There wasn't much to go on, and being hunted, and in hiding wasn't putting research at the forefront.   
  
Aaron could feel it, he could sense it all coming back to Robert. There was nothing Robert felt, that he didn't feel himself. “Talk to me, Robert.”   
  
Robert wiped a hand down his face as Aaron lifted himself and sat beside him. “I...I don't know what to do.” He said frustrated. “We're basically running on fumes with no leads, no hope. Lawrence has us on the run and we don't even know how he took over.” He finally stood from the sofa, he couldn't stay still, not when he was trying to think. “We've hit a several of their instillations trying to get something, anything, and nothing.” He said as he walked over to the desk, it was covered in files they had snatched from several of the locations that had ransacked for information. They had spent the last four weeks after their attack on the research facility in running, in hiding, the White Coven had taken over somehow and Robert along with his own group and Coven had become public enemy number one.   
  
Their failed attempts and trying to form some sort of a real plan is what got to him the most. They had nothing to go on and it made him feel useless. “Argh.” He shouted as he swiped his arm across the desk sending everything flying in the air. The hard materials all went crashing down while all the paper files flew into the air and slowly fell in heaps on the floor.   
  
“You feel better?” Aaron asked knowing damn well he didn't.   
  
“You know I don't.” Robert nearly sneered back, he regretted it instantly. “I'm sorry, Aaron.” He said walking back to him. He placed a hand to Aaron's cheek and rubbed his thumb across his beard. “It's not…” He tried to apologize when he heard it. It was faint, so faint he wasn't sure if it was there at first, but it was. The whisper, the same one from before. It was back.   
  
“Robert?”   
  
“Do...do you hear that?” Robert asked as the low whisper spoke, as it spoke to him.   
  
_Robert_ .   
  
“Hear what?” Aaron squinted his eyes trying to listen, half worried Robert was bricking it.   
  
_Over here_ .   
  
“I'm not crazy.”   
  
This way. The whisper came again. It was leading him back towards the mess he had created on the floor. _Over here._   
  
The whispers came as if literally coming from a certain stack of papers.

 _Here_ . It called again.   
  
“You okay, Robert?” Aaron asked as he took a step towards him.   
  
Robert held his hand up to Aaron, stopping him dead in his tracks, afraid the whispers would go away. He's not sure where they're coming from, but they've helped him before, so he couldn't ignore it.   
  
_Yes. Right here_ . The whisper says.   
  
Robert tilts his head as he kneels down, looking at the strangely fallen papers, they had fallen as if specifically placed. One sheet buried by two others, the two covering it had fallen face down, and covered the majority of the one sheet that fell face up. A single line text was all that was visible, an address.   
  
_There_ . The whisper finally said before it faded away.   
  
After four weeks with no leads, attacking random White Coven facilities hoping for a break, they may have finally caught one.   
  
“Robert?” Aaron finally pulled him from his thoughts. “What is it?”   
  
Robert reached down and took the sheet between his fingers as he looked back over his shoulder to Aaron.   
  
“Answers.”   
  
  
~~~~   
  
  
The whispers, he wasn't sure where they were coming from, who they came from, but something deep down told him he could trust them. He wasn't sure how he knew, he just knew, as if some sense within him told him so. It's the only reason everyone had been gathered back in study. It was also the main reason for the shouting.   
  
“So, you hear some voice no one else can hear, telling you what to do, and we're all just supposed to do it?” Ross, always the first to argue, always the last to fall in line. He's protesting, no, he's refusing. Or at least he does until he feels the burn on his neck. It's fast, it's searing, and he nearly drops to his knees.   
  
“Yes, that's exactly what you're supposed to do, luv.” Alicia lectures him. “Or have you forgotten, your place?” She tells him gesturing to his neck, to the brand she herself placed upon him. Loyalty to Robert, to their Coven, it's what the cursed brand signified. Stepping out of line was like betrayal, the one thing the brand would not tolerate.   
  
Ross let out a deep breath knowing damn well she was right. It wasn't his place to argue, he no longer could. He chose this path, it was better than death after all, and it gave him the chance to avenge his father. The White Coven was responsible for his downfall, and he would make sure they paid in return. “Just needed a little reminder.” He tried to play it. As he stood he placed a hand to his neck and rubbed it.   
  
“Look.” Robert huffed as he made eye contact with Ross, and quickly turned to everyone else. He knew how crazy it all sounded. “I know this is mad, but I trust it...them...whatever. It's not the first time I've heard the whisper either, and I'm not the only who's heard it.” He turned to look at Rebecca.   
  
“It's true. That night I escaped, I heard it as well. It's the only reason I even got out.”   
  
“But how do we even know if it was the same source, the same person?” Leyla asked.   
  
“I think I can help with that,” Alicia spoke out. “...maybe.”   
  
“What do you mean, maybe?” Robert asked.   
  
“Well, it depends.” She replies.   
  
“Depends? On what?”   
  
“On the source of the voice.” Alicia replied, partly exasperated, as if everyone should know everything she does herself, and she lets out a sigh when she sees the look of confusion on Robert's face. “How do you put up with him?” She teases at Aaron.   
  
“Babe, I love ya, I do...but we don't all have ages worth of witchcraft knowledge in our pretty little heads.” Leyla nudges at Alicia's elbow.   
  
Alicia rolls her eyes and goes on to explain. “There's only two ways about this, at least that I know of.” She begins. “The source could be communicating with you through some form of telepathy, or through witchcraft.”   
  
“Go on.” Robert replies.   
  
“If this is being done through telepathy, through a gift much like your teleport...there's nothing I can do, but if it's magic.” She finally smiles. “That type of connection leaves behind a type of mark, like a marker really...think of it as a magical cell tower, it leaves an opening for further connection. So, if it's magic, I can connect right into it, trace it even.”   
  
“It could lead us back to whoever the source is.” Rebecca jumps in as it all clicks.   
  
Alicia nods in response.   
  
“It has to be magic.” Aaron adds.   
  
“What makes you so sure, lover boy.” Ross adds, his usual charm taking over, he’s all smiles until he feels the glare Robert shoots him nearly burn through his head.   
  
“I can feel everything he feels, I can pretty much hear his thoughts...and I didn't hear the whisper. Did you?” Aaron asks as he turns to look at Jacob.   
  
Though his connection to Robert and Aaron was waning, it was still strong enough that he could feel what they felt, as awkward as that was for him, he'd gotten used to it. “No, I didn't.”   
  
“You’re right.” Alicia agreed. “You wouldn’t be able to hear it in his thoughts if it’s magic.”   
  
Robert clears his throat and leans forward in his chair, no longer was he leaning back against it, he needed to make himself clear. “I know it’s asking a lot of you all to follow me on this, but this is the first real lead we’ve had. There is no way we are not going to check it out, but if it’ll make you feel any better…” He said as he turned to Alicia. “Go in, do your thing, let’s find out who’s behind this voice, or if it’s safe to consider it…them, an ally.”   
  
She nodded to Robert as stood from her seat and made her way to him. She stood behind him as he sat, and lifted her hands above his head, closing her eyes. “I’m going to need you to relax, relax and think of the voice, try and remember the whisper, remember what it sounded like.”

He didn't have to try, it was almost like the whisper was there engraved in his mind, in a special place only he could access. He didn't know where the whisper came from, but he couldn't help but feel some form of familiarity with it. As strange as it felt, he knew it meant him no harm, no malice, if anything it felt like it meant to protect him.

“There...hold on to that thought.” Alicia told him as she found what she was looking for. She smirked for a second, so sure she would be able to trace the mark back to its origin. “Got you.” She said softly before she jerked back in pain and nearly fell to the floor.

“Alicia!” Leyla was quick, managed to catch her before she toppled over. “You okay, love?”

Alicia gave her a quick nod before she shook her head trying to get her bearings. “It's magic alright.” She declared. “And it's more powerful than anything I've ever encountered before. Whoever it is pushed me back, they certainly don't want to be found.”

“It's pretty clear they're trying to hide something.”

“Oh just shut your gob already will ya, Ross.” Alicia shot him a look. “Whoever they are, they mean us no harm. It's quite the opposite really, they're trying to protect you.” She turned her eyes to Robert.

“Me?” Robert replied.

“Oh yeah.” Alicia said matter of factly.

“How can you tell?” Aaron asked her.

“I couldn't see them...or trace them, but I could feel their intentions.” She told him. “Whatever it is that they're doing, they're trying to help, and they're doing it to keep him safe.”

It was all he needed to hear. He knew deep down Alicia was right. He felt it.

“So, we move forward.” Is all he said as he stood. There was no point in dragging this out any longer. They had a lead, and they were taking it.

“So what's the plan?” Rebecca asked, her voice was meek. She still felt unsure of her place there. She only knew Robert, and that was ages ago, everyone else had been treating carefully around her, still unsure if she could be trusted. Part of her wanted to leave but she had nowhere else to go, and she couldn't take the chance of being caught out on her own, not while she was still trying to fully gain her bearings. The years she had been kept poisoned and tortured had taken a toll, even as a vampire.

Robert turned his attention to Ross. As much as he hated to even think it, there was reason to his caution, the last plan he had set out blew up in their faces. They lost both Connor and David, while he himself along with Alicia and Jacob nearly died, being careless was something they couldn't afford.

“We'll play it safe.” He said as he nodded his head, still looking at Ross as if trying to assure him. “We'll do recon first. Leyla, you and Aaron are with me.” He tells them. “The rest of you, you're in standby. If we see an opening, we're taking it and you need to be ready to move in.” Robert gives the orders to Mike, Ross, Jacob, Rebecca, and Alicia before feels the worry in Aaron. “Bex, you're still not fully recovered. You stay back and please keep an eye on Adam.”

Aaron looked up from his seat and gave Robert a soft nod. “Thanks.” The last thing he wanted was to worry about Adam while they reconned. He knew that at the moment, this lead was important, even more so than Adam, who had not been the same since he last saw him alive, since he last saw him as a human.

Being tuned doesn't always take, at least not properly. It's a dangerous process that usually means death, a true death, and only the lucky few are successfully turned. Those that are much less lucky simply die, and for the even more so unfortunate, they become something else. Adam had the misfortune of being killed with Gerry's blood running through him, blood that had been tainted with madness. Gerry, the idiot newborn who as it turned out had been an unhinged traitor amongst them, had no clue as to what he was doing.

Maybe it had been their plan all along. Adam's mind had been broken upon his turn. It had been shattered beyond anything they could fix, and perhaps they intended to set him loose Aaron. A wolf in sheep's clothing perhaps. Not that they'll ever know now. From the moment Adam had regained conscience after the rescue from the White Coven facility, he had attacked, and no matter how much they tried to reason with him, he could not be reached. He had been placed in a holding cell with the hopes that with time, his old self would resurface.

“It's time.” Robert said, pulling Aaron back from his thoughts.

Aaron nodded and along with the group he followed Robert. They gathered their gear stepped close to one another. Robert placed his hand to Leyla's shoulder and between the two of them, they held on to everyone, and in a breath they had vanished.

“Good luck.” Rebecca whispered.

~~~~

The night had been all but still, it was unseasonably wet, and the torrential downpour that was currently soaking him to the core was driving him mad. After the grief Ross had given him, the analysis from Alicia about the whisper, and his own gut feeling, it seemed the lead was a dead end after all. There was nothing here, nothing out of the ordinary, not even a single guard around the property. The location had led them to a large house just outside a small village in the Dale's, a village that Aaron himself knew of. It was evident from his reaction  upon arrival that he knew it, even more telling were the distressing feelings it gave him. He tried to push them away but it was no use. Robert felt them, felt him, and there was no hiding from their connection.

“You know this place?” Robert had asked.

Aaron's face grimmaced as he nodded. “Long story, maybe another time, but yeah.” He said. “This is Emmerdale.”

“You know that place?” Leyla asked nodding her head out towards the location in question.

“No.” Aaron shook his head. “Never spent enough time here to know.”

The village was small, too small for them to not be noticed just skulking around. The plan had to move forward, Robert, Aaron, and Leyla would recon while the others waited to move in. Aaron had informed the group of a cafe in the village where they could wait until needed and they split. It wasn't long after Robert, Aaron, and Leyla arrived at the mansion that they realized how dead it was. No guards, no security, no signs of Vampire activity. Not even a crest to signify the property belonged to a Coven. Nothing. A dead end.

“Fuck.” Robert had let out through gritted teeth. Whatever he thought it was the whisper had tried to tell him, he had been wrong to trust it. He reached for his ear and pressed the button on the communication device. “Maybe there's nothing here.” He said sounding defeated, unsure what to make of the voice that led him here.

“Hang on.” Aaron's voice came over the communication device. “There's a vehicle coming up the driveway.”

“Do you see any markings on it, any crests.” Robert asked, remembering what he had taught Aaron.

The markings or crests the vampires would use to mark the properties, their belongings. It was a sure way to keep others from taking anything from a fellow vampire. Stealing from humans was open game, but stealing from another vampire, particularly one from another Coven, that could lead to war.

Aaron let out a breath knowing Robert wouldn't like his response. “No. Didn't see any.”

Robert tried to mask his frustration the best he could, this lead was looking more and more like a dead end, and they had wasted enough time. He clenched his fist and only relaxed when he felt Aaron trying to calm him, he could feel Aaron telling him to hold on a bit longer, no words were needed. He eased back into his position, hidden high in the branches of a tree, and waited for the vehicle to pull up into view. As the doors to the vehicle opened and a group of teenage girls exited, his shoulders dropped in defeat, it had to be called, the mission was a bust. He had his hand to the communication device, ready to recall every one, when he saw it. The foggy look in all of their eyes, the lack of emotion, he knew the look all too well.

“What is it?” Aaron asked over the comms as he felt Robert's reaction.

“They're all in a trance.” He replied. “They're being compelled. Stand by.” He ordered as he watched the group of girls all walk towards the mansion.

The vehicle slowly turned and as it began to drive away the doors to the mansion opened, and the girls all disappeared into it.

Without a word Robert _jumped_ to Aaron's side and just as quickly as he had appeared they were both gone. Aaron could still feel the buzz, nowhere near as much as he had felt it the first time, but he felt like he'd never get used to the _jump_. It was like being torn apart molecule by molecule, and being put together again, or at least that's the only way he could describe it. He took a deep breath and looked around, they we're no longer outside, it hit him that they were now I side the mansion. He turned to see Robert near a window, with a small flashlight in hand he clicked it twice, and as quickly as he had stopped Leyla appeared alongside them.

“You smell that?” Robert asked Leyla.

“Smells like a blood den.” She replies.

“A what?” Aaron asks. The whole vampire world still all so new to him.

“Quiet.” Robert hisses before peering around a corner, he reaches back and gestures for them to stay in place, and like that, he's gone.

Aaron quickly tries to run after him when he feels it, Robert's heart rate has spiked, something is wrong. He begins to take a step but Leyla holds him in place, and he nearly snarls at her, but she stands her ground. “He can take care of himself, love.” She tries to assure him and she nearly manges to calm him until the screening begins.

The screams sound like they're coming from young women, they're panicked, and they seem to be getting louder. The smell of fear fills the air and and the screams turn to crashing sounds, it's a fight.

Leyla loses her grip on Aaron and he dashes towards the commotion, determined to protect Robert at all costs. As he kicks the door in to the room where the noises were coming from, a body flies at the wall next to him, it slams hard enough against the wall it breaks behind it. Aaron looks up to see a group of girls shaking in a corner of the room, they're all disheveled, half naked and trembling in fear. Robert's there and he's walking towards him, no, he's walking towards the body that flew into the wall, and he has a grin on his face.

Leyla quickly rushes past them all and makes her way to the girls, she looks them all in the eyes, and they're all sleeping seconds after. Aaron finally looks beside him and sees a boy slumped on the floor. He's hurt but not down for the count, there is a rage in his eyes, but mostly the kid looks like he's about to piss himself.

As Robert comes to a stop before the kid, he crouches down and keeps his eyes on the boy.

“I guess our luck has finally turned.” He says over his shoulder, speaking to Aaron and Leyla.

Robert turns his full attention back to the boy. “I always knew you were a sick little shit, but preying on poor defenseless teenage girls?” He tuts.

He leans in closer, so close his nose nearly touches the boy's.

“That takes the creep factor to a whole new level, even for you, Lachlan.”

  


 

 


End file.
